Knowledge

“Knowledge is in the end based on acknowledgement.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein

          Today is World Thinking Day. I thought that it would be appropriate to touch on the issue of knowledge. Knowledge, after all, goes hand in hand with thinking, does it not? When looking at the quote of the day, we may ask, what did Wittgenstein imply by what he said? What does knowledge acknowledge? Maybe we should turn to Confucius in this regard for an answer. Confucius says that real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance because the admission of ignorance is often the primary step in one’s growth.
Ignorance will also always be the ball and chain of your epistemic (knowledge-based) pursuit in life. Socrates and Plato insisted on truthfulness for all moral humankind; for they must base their actions on knowledge. Aristotle thought that humans desire knowledge by nature. But why? Well, Lao-Tzu says that to know yet to think that one does not know is the best; and not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty.
Kahlil Gibran added to this by stating that it was his wish to know all things under the sun and the moon, for all things are beautiful in themselves and become more beautiful when known. He said that knowledge gives wings to life, and I can relate to that, I hope you can too, for knowledge surely gives you wings.
It is important to cut the ball and chain of ignorance and embrace a world of knowledge. The first step, however, as Wittgenstein said, is to acknowledge knowledge, and I will add to this, to acknowledge what you know and what you don’t know (and also your ignorance). From there on you can start to rebuild your foundation of knowledge.


If the attainment of knowledge
can be seen as something of importance,
then it would enable you to build a bridge
over the abyss of ignorance.

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