Knowledge

Any person who knew with absolute certainty that another reality exists above this one (and leave to the side, for the moment, how that knowledge was acquired) then that person, and a community of such people, would be operating in this world of ours according to the laws of that reality rather than more or less unconsciously adapting to this one. Here a new aspects of the old gnosis—and why knowledge, quite by itself, might be enough—emerges. Such knowledge makes all the difference. To be sure, effective action in this world would then also require much more learning—but the learning about this world would be from the new perspective. It would have quite another context. Faith, as that word is usually understood, is nine parts hope and one part knowledge; it is a weaker state.

But how does this knowledge actually arise? Can it arises more or less naturally?

In my own case the process began with observation and continued through research, thought, reasoning. Gradually. What words to apply to those activities? Exhaustive, wide-ranging, comprehensive. Those qualifiers are crucially important because they incline the investigator to feel obliged to explain whatever facts or phenomena actually appear. Each must be integrated effectively into a whole. The process began for me in trying to make sense of history—when I first entered the Army. The question was suddenly there: What are armies all about? The simple answer I already had, defense. But when you apply those qualifiers (exhaustive, wide-ranging, and comprehensive) that’s only a start. It doesn’t matter where the process begins provided that the effort is allowed to branch. From armies, history. So what is history all about?

Knowledge comes in two varieties: adaptive and truth-seeking. Adaptive learning stops when the action becomes clear; truth-seeking, by its nature, never stops. To follow one’s inclinations belongs to the adaptive category: adapting to desire. So you become all-knowing about literature. It can easily fill a career. To be sure, literature can also be a starting point provided that it becomes exhaustive, wide-ranging, and comprehensive. Soon you’re studying DNA and cells. The human tendency is to organize knowledge into domains and to leave the borders between them more or less neglected territory. Within those domains, lots of easy answers—also enough and exciting controversy to engage the specialist as a fan or opponent for a lifetime. But reconciling different domains is something quite different—especially when they appear to present quite opposing general views of life. And the work is not outwardly rewarding; yes, there are people who tackle such controversies and make a name for themselves; they will also “specialize” in two; but tackling all of them?

Knowledge also arises from life—as opposed to subjects. And lived experiences must also be harmonized with formal knowledge. Endless process. It’s best to keep it separate from earning a living. What might begin as faith (or absolute lack of it) turns into knowledge eventually. And once it is present, it makes all the difference. Not surprisingly, everything then looks—very different.