以前、高校の教え子たちと話していて①ふと気づいたことがある。疑問に感じることの幅の広さ、疑問の大きさの違いだ。「どうして？」「なぜ？」という問いは、人間にとって、だれもが持ち合わせるごく当たり前の心のはたらきだと思っていた。しかし実際には、その広がり、対象範囲が人によってまったく異なるのだ。
（中略）
疑問とは、「興味の現れ」にほかならない。なにごとに無関心な生徒は、会話もじつに淡白である。他者とのコミュニケーションにも興味がない。興味はないから、疑問も起きてこない。
私はというと、物心ついたときから好奇心旺盛な子どもであった。「このおもちゃの内部はどうなっているんだろう？」そう思ってばらばらに分解しては、元に戻せなくて泣いていたものである。
自分を取り巻く社会で起きるあらゆること、たとえば学校の授業で先生が教えたり、指導する内容にだって「なんで？」と思っていいのだ。会社の上司の指示にも「なんで？」と思っていい。親の躾にも「なんで？」と思っていい。
問題は、「なんで？」だけで思考が終わってしまうことだ。②それではダメだ。というのは、「なんで？」だけで終わってしまうと、その後に「反抗」「反感」の感情が心に渦巻いてしまうだけだからである。「なんで？」に始まり、そこから「どうしてそうなるの？」「本当にそうなの？」と、自分なりに考えを極めていく作業が大切であり、そこに成長の鍵がある。
（山本博「持続力」による）
AI translation, cross-checked between two models.
Some time ago, while talking with students I had taught in high school, I suddenly realized something. It was the difference in the breadth of what they questioned and in the scale of their questions. “Why?” I had thought that questions like “Why?” were a perfectly natural function of the human mind that everyone possesses. In reality, however, the extent and range of those questions differ completely from person to person.
(Omitted)
A question is nothing other than “an expression of interest.” Students who are indifferent to everything are remarkably detached even in conversation. They are not interested in communicating with other people either. Because they have no interest, no questions arise either.
As for me, I had been an intensely curious child ever since I was old enough to understand the world around me. “I wonder what the inside of this toy is like?” Thinking that, I would take it completely apart and then cry because I could not put it back together.
About anything that happens in the society around us—even what teachers teach or instruct us to do in class—it is perfectly fine to think, “Why?” It is also fine to think, “Why?” about instructions from a superior at work. It is also fine to think, “Why?” about the discipline imposed by one’s parents.
The problem is when one’s thinking stops at “Why?” and goes no further. That is not enough. This is because if you stop at nothing more than “Why?” all that follows is a swirl of feelings of “rebellion” and “resentment” in your mind. Starting with “Why?” and then asking, “Why does it turn out that way?” or “Is that really true?”, what matters is to pursue the question as far as you can through your own thinking; therein lies the key to growth.
(From Yamamoto Hiroshi, “Perseverance”)
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