Talk:See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Requested move
See No Evil Hear No Evil Speak No Evil &rarr; See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil reason for move : A proverb should not be capitalized, and there should be commas between the clauses. deadkid_dk 11:57, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

Survey and discussion

 * Add * Support or * Oppose followed by an optional one-sentence explanation, or add * followed by a comment, then sign your opinion with "~"


 * Support. reasons stated above. deadkid_dk 11:57, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Support per nom. David Kernow 12:44, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Support Dancter 03:10, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Support per nom. Hairy Dude 13:15, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Support, clearly. Jonathunder 22:13, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Move, of course. &mdash; Nightst a  llion  (?) Seen this already? 10:47, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

Conclusion: move it. Done April 26, 2006 by Nightstallion.

Contradiction
The monkeys originated from a Japanese play on words.

There is criticism of the Japanese-origin theory—mainly because the Three Wise Monkeys do not originate from Japan.

We need to cite some sources, because these clearly contradict each other. If the sources indicate that the origin is disputed, then these sentences need to sound a bit less sure of themselves. --Galaxiaad 22:34, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

how about start out saying there are 2 leading theories? sources would be good, though. by the way, is there a policy about usage of AD and BC vs BCE and BC? Tsinoyboi 11:45, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, that'd be better... As for the dates, looks like both are OK (see Manual of Style (dates and numbers)). --Galaxiaad 17:59, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

On a related note, I feel like the following two sections contradict themselves:


 * “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” is a common phrase, usually used to describe someone who doesn't want to be involved in a situation or someone turning a willful blind eye to the immorality of an act he is involved in.


 * Some contend that it is a proverb serving as a reminder not to be so snoopy, so nosy, and so gossipy. Others say that it is a warning to stay away from places where immoral acts are taking place.

The second section seems to indicate (to me, at least) a dichotomy between two interpretations, whereas the top of the article presents a radically different third interpretation. --Tjohns  &#9998; 07:31, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

The beginning of the proverb is "Monkey see, Monkey do", so the Wise Monkey sees no evil, etc. Simple. LK 1/6/07

Two Meanings
As defined in the two articles, the meaning of the phrase is completely different - one is a piece of advice, the other is a commentary about not getting involved.

still a different interpretation
I think there might still be a different interpretation. I see it as an advice for relationships between people.

One should not see/hear the bad things about the people next to you, but believe in their good site. The third part would then mean you should not talk bad about a third person.

In other words:

In the end you can never really know the truth (about other people), and probably the "truth" is just something we make up in our mind. The real world depends on what we create.

So if you see no evil, hear no evil speak no evil, you will have a better "truth" in your mind.

This interpretation is different from "turning a blind eye"-interpretation  in that its not referring to one specific act but rather interpretating it as a general way to see things.

The above just my personal interpretation I came up with during my stay here in Tokyo. I think that so many people can live so peacefully here in Tokyo is one of the largest cultural achievements and might be based on such a philosophy as "see no evil hear no evil speak no evil".