Knowledge and Perspective

Part 1:

    “If there could be any mortal who could observe with his mind the interconnection of all causes, nothing indeed would escape him. For he who knows the causes of things that are to be necessarily knows all the things that are going to be.” - (Cicero, On Divination, 1.127.)

    It is said that knowledge is power. If this supposed mortal were to have such infinite knowledge, would he truly have infinite power? This is the principle behind determinism, everything is the direct cause of a previous event leading back to the Big Bang. Many philosophers over the centuries have wondered whether or not this is the case. If such is the case, can one truly be held responsible for their actions since all actions stem not from free will but a sequence of events that forced their hand? If we imagine a ball sitting atop a hill, we can calculate the time it takes to roll down knowing certain information such as drag, friction, height, mass, and speed. Can this apply to the universe as a whole? Would it be possible, for instance, to know exactly the thoughts going through someone’s head and all of their future actions? If so, is free will real, or is free will a facade in which even the concept of such has been inevitable from the beginning? 

    Look no further than the tragic king Oedipus of Thebes. Sophocles presents to us the prime example of a virtuous man placed in difficult circumstances due to the dice roll of fate cast upon him. Led down a path of tragedy, Oedipus kills his father and weds his mother who later gives birth to his four children. Oedipus takes drastic steps to avoid the fate that holds power over his life. Leaving behind his presumed father, he journeys far away to avoid any chance of fulfilling the prophecy. Through his false sense of safety and free will, he is eventually faced with the truth and must live with the burden of what he has done. However, even in Greek mythology, there are powers that trump fate. In the Odyssey, Zeus prevents the destruction of the Phaeacians that was prophesied. So was Oedipus’ actions a form of his own free will or was something beyond at play here? Does it really matter whether or not we have free will as long as we maintain the illusion of it? I’d like to think that it doesn’t but we can never know.

    It is believed impossible due to the fundamental nature of the universe. The universe is built on the principles of chaos and disorder. Through knowledge of probabilities, we can approximate what may happen with all the starting conditions set but we can never know with certainty what we predict will occur. However, seemingly random events can still be predicted. Random number generators take various inputs such as temperature, volume, and time to generate “random” numbers.

    Similarly, larger random systems that appear to have no patterns can be deciphered as well. Chaotic systems such as the double pendulum and three-body system have puzzled brilliant minds for many years. What’s to say we will never find a solution to the quantum world of chance and probability?

Part 2:

    “There is no wealth like knowledge, no poverty like ignorance” - (Ali Ibn Abi-Talib)

    Success. It’s something we all strive for. Whether in the workplace, academics, wealth, or relationships, society measures a man by his success. And the key to this success is knowledge. Our knowledge dictates how we make decisions, see the world, and impact society. Knowledge’s influence over perspective is a clearly shown theme used by Sophocles, Camus, and Arundhati Roy through the actions of their characters.

    The God of Small Things, set in the time when the caste system was the strongest, shows the effects of the knowledge people are brought up with. Although Velutha, a member of the “untouchable” cast had nothing to do with the death of Sophie Mol, she is used as a sacrificial lamb to save those of higher castes from punishment. Estha, who she believed loved her, betrayed Velutha in her final moments by helping to sentence her to a crime she didn’t commit. This would never have been the case had this been during a different time when the caste system was not in place. Due to the circumstances that they had been brought up in, Estha treats Velutha as inferior while Velutha is subservient to Estha. The knowledge taught to children early on in their lives has a profound impact on how they treat others and how they perceive the world around them. 

    A series of various studies conducted by Eskandari and Kiani demonstrated that introducing young children to philosophical stories led to improvements in thinking skills, judgment, and reasoning among others improvements. Several other studies have also been conducted that show similar results in that when children are taught knowledge such as philosophy, their mental acuity sharply improves which in turn affects how they interact with others in the real world. 

    This is applicable in working environments as well. By working in conjunction with coworkers, one can increase efficiency by staying up to date on progress on a large project. Studies have shown that sharing knowledge and learning behaviors can lead to better performance in most cases. It also creates a healthy work environment where coworkers are not afraid to ask questions to one another and collaborate. If you were stuck on a problem, why wouldn’t you go to the worker sitting right next to you and ask them for help? Who knows, maybe they might’ve faced a similar problem before and have the proper knowledge to help.

    On the other hand, misinformation and the spread of rumors can also have similar effects that are more negative. A review of the spread of fake news on social media regarding the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on mental health. Unsurprisingly, results showed that such false news caused psychological disorders, panic, fear, depression, and fatigue. This is in line with how Arundhati’s The God of Small Things shows the impacts of the caste system. Fear was not uncommon in both cases as well as depression. While Velutha faced depression through betrayal and her unfair treatment, many in the world faced similar depression from the impact of knowledge that was spread with malicious intent. This can create mistrust for all information, whether good or bad which can be harmful, especially in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic. During times when having accurate information on safety measures and appropriate precautions, many distrusted the vaccines that were developed to save lives.

    Now let’s consider the case of Camus’ Meursault. Meursault is attacked for his lack of emotion after the death of his mother. When he is on trial for the death of the Arab, it does not seem he is on trial for the murder of the Arab, it seems that he is on trial for his lack of caring towards the death of his mother more than anything else. While this is unfair, the problem can be reduced down to Meursault’s lack of knowledge. Meursault, through no fault of his own, is unable to feel emotions in the same way that others can. He was never able to acquire the knowledge to feel the way others do. His Asperger’s syndrome restricts him from the social knowledge that is intuitive to most. Maybe if Meursault had that knowledge, he would’ve never been targeted as such by the court and might have gotten away with a lighter sentence.

    As demonstrated by Arundhati Roy, Camus, and Sophocles, knowledge shapes perspectives and thus changes the fates of those with knowledge for the better while doing the opposite for those who either have less knowledge or have false knowledge that misleads them. As we grow over time, we must acquire new knowledge and impart our knowledge to those who need it. As the Dalai Lama once said, “Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.”