In philosophy, the study of knowledge is characterized as epistemology.  Literally, the word means the study of knowledge, but in some interpretations it means ‘faith’. The concepts of knowledge and belief, truth and faith are so infinitely intertwined because objectivity itself is largely an illusory ideal.

Yet our modern ideal of knowledge has always been the search for truth. From the Enlightenment onwards, the collective aim of humanity has been to uncover and codify the ‘truths’ of the universe. Although the debate has raged within the halls of academia, the binary mode of discussion has been about subjectivity and interpretation versus objectivity and truth. But there is another school of thought that provides an intention-based approach to the search for knowledge. The famed philosopher of science, Paul Feyerband, argued that human wellbeing should be the primary criterion in the assessment of theories, methods, worldviews, and ways of life – not abstract standards such as ‘truth’ or ‘knowledge’. As he states, “If one puts such abstractions ahead of human well-being then one has lost sight of the purpose of both science and philosophy which should be our servants, not our masters.” In essence, we must shift our dominant Enlightenment thinking from one that seeks only truth to a system that valorizes the wellbeing of humanity.

If we adopted this lens on knowledge, we would be wholly disappointed with what we would uncover about our current system of organizing our political, economic, and social structures. As the philosopher Slavoj Zizek has argued, the insanity of our current worldview is that we are abounded with apocalyptic scenarios of global destruction, but we lack a vision for a new form of self-organization. He states, “We can imagine the end of the world before we can imagine the end of capitalism. And this is what is truly terrifying.”

This issue hopes to take our understanding of knowledge in the search for wellbeing and use that approach to re-examine our current socio-economic arrangements. We will look at different aspects of what we know and question where we are in fact going. What do we really know? How will the Internet, nanotechnology and other forms of technological advance change the way we acquire knowledge? Do we actually pay heed to the lessons of the past or do we cyclically play out history’s follies in new permutations and combinations?

We hope that you will enjoy this issue and contribute to the dialogue.

“Progress is not the mere correction of evils. Progress is the constant replacing of the best there is with something still better.” - Edward Filene

For human beings, knowledge has always contained the hope for our future. It is a natural evolutionary driver; it is the informational DNA that gives us an existential advantage over all other creatures. Why? Because we presume that ...Read more

In Nicholas Carr’s recent book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, he explores the effects of our Great Migration online on the neurology of our brains.

The book starts with a quote from 1964 by Marshall McLuhan, who thought that the electric media of the twentieth century - telephone, radio, movies and television - was breaking the tyranny of text over our thoughts and senses: "We are approaching the technological simu ...Read more

In the light of climate change, energy and food shortages, and global terrorism – all complex problems affecting an increasingly interconnected “flat” world – never has the achievement of a common good seemed more necessary or more pressing. In The Upside Of Down, writer and advisor to the CIA amongst others, Thomas Homer-Dixon, describes the “highly compartmentalized approach” of individual experts, governments and institutions operating in isolation as simply ineffectual. Homer-Dixon cites the example of organizations like the ...Read more

The temple of Apollo was inscribed with the aphorism of the Oracle of Delphi: "Know Thyself".  What is known is often a reflection of the self as a projection from the mind of others. In the digital age where our identities and relationships are mediated through social networking sites and online profiles, knowledge and determination of self fundamentally change in the public sphere.

In his book ...Read more

One cannot explore the notion of knowledge without trying to grasp its elusive corollary of wisdom. “We are now far too clever,” wrote the great economist E.F. Schumacher in relation to the information overload of contemporary culture, “to be able to survive without wisdom”, arguing that information is useless if we don’t have the tools to make the connections to decipher what it all means. We all understand that knowledge and wisdom are not the same concept, but the fluidity to move from one to the other is often fleeting.

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