By Donald Puchala
“Several blind men approached an elephant and each touched the animal in an effort to discover what the beast looked like. Each blind man, however, touched a different part of the large animal, and each concluded that the elephant had the appearance of the part he had touched. Hence, the blind man who felt the animal’s trunk concluded that an elephant must be tall and slender, while the fellow who touched the beast’s ear concluded that an elephant must be oblong and flat. Others of course reached different conclusions. The total result was that no man arrived at a very accurate description of the elephant. Yet each man had gained enough evidence from his own experience to disbelieve his fellows and to maintain a lively debate about the nature of the beast.” [1]
What is Puchala getting at with this story?
1. Donald Puchala. “Of Blind Men, Elephants and International Integration.” Journal of Common Market Studies. Vol. 10, N. 3, March 1972. pp. 267 – 284.