Knowledge in worldview

Enhancing the Quality of Knowing through Integration of East-West metaphors (Part #5)

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The case of the Aborigines draws attention to the fact that relationship knowledge may be far less instrumental and aggressive. It may be embodied in a worldview that is not necessarily expressed through any proselytizing endeavour. There may be valued forms of knowledge that are not presented as commodities, or even purveyed in any way. A person may know the way from A to B, even in knowledge space, without any need to present this knowledge to "passers by" as a commodity for sale. Whether the knowledge is offered in response to a question is another matter.

In this respect the nature of certain knowledge, and whether it lends itself to commodification, is quite intriguing. What knowledge is there in an attitude? Is a question knowledge -- or only an answer? Arguably both are forms of information, but only the second might be considered to be sufficiently organized to be termed knowledge. However the question implicit in an as yet unsolved mathematical problem would certainly be considered a form of knowledge by mathematicians.

But there is a challenge here. In an educational mode, a teacher will often choose not to deliver "knowledge" as a package to be absorbed -- or consumed as a commodity. Education may be considered more appropriate through a question. This is especially true of some spiritual teachers -- as exemplified by the use of the koan in Zen.What does this imply about the nature of knowledge that can only be elicited through reflection on a question -- or the humour of Sufi tales? Would the questions fundamental to society 500 years hence, or 500 light years distant, be valued as knowledge today?

Conversely, what can be said about the nature of the knowledge that is sought through asking a question of someone who purportedly knows? This is the dilemma of spiritual tourism through which western tourists pay to meet people of wisdom (often of the East or in indigenous cultures) and expect knowledge in response to their questions -- as part of the package for which they have paid serious money. But the knowledge may not be communicable in the language of the question. Invasive questioning behaviour may be inimical to comprehension -- and what is communicated as part of the deal may be packaged in a way that has little to do with how it is experienced as living knowledge.

This suggests several lines of exploration:

• are there forms of knowledge inherent in non-western cultures (and potentially valuable to them) that do not lend themselves to communication through western language?
• are there forms of knowledge capable of sustaining social development that are relatively incomprehensible to western-style science -- and might they have a vital, unexplored role in sustaining global development?
• are the responses to queries framed in western terms (such as to web search engines) to be considered information or knowledge, and if the former, what alternative forms of response might be envisaged of relevance to queries of another nature?
• is the question-answer polarity the only way of framing the progressive evolution of knowing, or are there other ways -- whether extant or that might be envisaged?
• is every evolution of comprehension to be described in terms of a quantitative "increase" in knowledge that is thereby "grasped" and "acquired"?

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