Dear Friends,
It seems to me that the problem with knowledge is that it isn’t fixed but liquid. Most people think of knowledge as cast in bronze. Instead if you clutch it, it contorts, and slips away. The fixed knowledge fallacy leads to many mistakes. Accepting the word of experts as gospel is one. A lack of critical thinking is another. Then there’s the ever popular, allowing others to decide your fate. These are life altering mistakes that come from our trust in the fixed nature of knowledge. If we examine history however we find that knowledge is never fixed. It changes over time. What is known to be true today is found to be false tomorrow. New discoveries often change our understanding of old ones. Then there’s the two categories of knowledge. That which we know, and that which we accept, conditionally.
The only things we actually know are those things we have directly observed. Those things others have observed, that we haven’t, are everything else… which is accepted conditionally. Conditionally, in that we accept them as true, contingent upon new observation. Because, if we are unwilling to update our opinion when new information comes in, we’re guaranteed to be wrong. Not all new information is true. So we have to discern. The foundation is that which we know by direct observation. If new information doesn’t fit, it’s probably not true, alternatively it may refine our understanding. It’s up to us to discern why. Only those who constantly update their opinion, based on all the information they have, can be considered wise. Since the sage understands and sees the world holistically.
Our understanding of knowledge evolves based on new observations and re imagining the consequences of old ones. Fixed ideas lead to fixed minds, and mired minds aren’t capable of leaps in understanding. So are always at the mercy of the opinions of others. Incorporating them as their own. Leading inexorably to ideological capture. Where others decide your fate for you. They program a person like a robot. Yet the robot bears the consequences for the programmer’s code. An alien mind app. Even as the discerning accept ideas contingently, and incorporate them into their own world view, or more wisely, only the parts of new ideas that make sense. So the sage’s worldview is always changing based on new information. Yet the acceptance of new information is discerning.
Believing a fallacy must lead to mistakes. The fallacy of knowledge being fixed leads to many dangerous assumptions. Like a blind belief in the experts, lack of critical thinking, and even allowing others to decide our life path for us. Moreover, a lack of discernment makes us vulnerable to psi ops. Where we’re manipulated to the benefit of others. Because appeals to emotion, authority, popularity, and patriotism are often manipulations. Easily seen through, if one has discernment, an open mind and a constantly updating worldview. Which is all well and good for those with life experience. For the kids who are being programmed, this paradigm fails. Because without context it’s hard to contextualize new information. They’re likely to simply adopt the worldview of whomever philosopher they admire.
Once we understand the mercurial nature of knowledge we can operate efficiently. Conditionally accepting most of what’s called knowledge today, subject to change, means we’re less likely to stake more on an outcome than it can payoff. Because we keep a foot behind to catch us should we be wrong. Those who believe knowledge is fixed, and the experts have it all, don’t leave a foot behind and so fall the moment they’re wrong. They’re subject to ideological capture. The youth are the most vulnerable to this mind trap. Lacking the life experience to contextualize new information. What we need to do is adopt a mindset of discerning open mindedness. Understand that the only thing we really know is what we have observed. All other knowledge is contingent. While teaching this to the kids.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
