The Problem of Knowledge

These days I think that this is a very practical and compelling philosophical issue. Philosophers call this area "epistemology" --how we come to know what we know. Here is the definition from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

The term “epistemology” comes from the Greek words “episteme” and “logos”. “Episteme” can be translated as “knowledge” or “understanding” or “acquaintance”, while “logos” can be translated as “account” or “argument” or “reason”. Just as each of these different translations captures some facet of the meaning of these Greek terms, so too does each translation capture a different facet of epistemology itself. Although the term “epistemology” is no more than a couple of centuries old, the field of epistemology is at least as old as any in philosophy.[1] In different parts of its extensive history, different facets of epistemology have attracted attention. Plato’s epistemology was an attempt to understand what it was to know, and how knowledge (unlike mere true opinion) is good for the knower.

This is interesting and worth studying, of course. Plato's theory of knowledge is discussed in two dialogues, the Theaetetus and the Sophist and there is a lot of secondary discussion in the literature (cf. Plato's Theory of Knowledge, trans. with commentary by Francis M. Cornford).

But the problem in the current world situation is rather different and even more urgent. Little hints of it come through in terms like "fake news," ideology and propaganda. For the ancient Greeks the problem was distinguishing knowledge from mere opinion and from sense perception and appearance. For us, swamped by a tidal wave of data, opinion, "news" and a host of other streams, the problem is rather finding what is not only true, but also useful and appropriate.

Let me illustrate from my own experience, which is always a good place to start. When I was in my teens and wandering, looking for some sort of career and life guidance, the problem was what was the real story of who I was and what I could hope to accomplish? Unfortunately, that knowledge was not only difficult to obtain, I wasn't even aware that it might exist!

 Oddly enough, I got a bit of a taste of a solution many years later when I had to take a required seminar in my musicology doctoral program. The course was called "research methods" and frankly, we all need some version of it. The other solution might be a course called "potential and possibilities." That one should probably come first. What I needed to know when I was young, was what possible paths there were for me and I'm not distorting the situation when I say I really had absolutely no idea. I liked music a lot and had played in a band so I ended up pursuing that path. But honestly, I never even considered any others because they seemed not to be feasible--in fact I was pretty much totally ignorant of them! If I had simply asked, what are the potential possibilities in my life, then I might have started doing the research.

Ever since my experience as a graduate student I tend to approach things in a different way. I was asked to give a pre-concert talk on Chopin a few years ago and since I knew almost nothing about him I created a graduate seminar for myself that involved reading a biography and a collection of scholarly papers, The Cambridge Companion to Chopin, as well as listening to a box of his complete works and studying some scores. It took me a couple of months, but I was then prepared to do a little talk on Chopin. This is pretty much what I do whenever I run into a significant gap in my knowledge and understanding.

The main problem for us nowadays is developing a fairly sensitive, what in less enlightened times we would have called a "bullshit meter." This is something that should go off when you read most items in the mainstream media, on television news and, yes, on the Internet, even blogs. Frankly, it is pretty easy to tell when you are being manipulated and propagandized, at least I think so. Here is one of my solutions: decades ago I found that there were a host of articles about health and health dangers so I went to my local bookstore (this was pre-Internet) and started searching the shelves for a skeptical review of the health literature. I did find a suitable book and after reading it, proceeded to discount most of what I read about health issues.

In many cases a simple recourse to cui bono is helpful: who benefits from getting you to believe this information? It is usually perfectly obvious which is why all political statements are particularly suspect. But the solutions, even in our hyper-politicized times, are usually obvious once you get a certain habit of mind. In whatever field the issue arises, look for alternative sources: substack, scholarly treatments (in some areas even this has become corrupted so you may need to seek out older sources), or even simply delving into your own personal experience. The evidence of your own eyes is pretty compelling. Or ears in the case of music. That is usually why I accompany any musical discussion with some clips of the pieces in question. Hey, have a listen for yourself.

So let's do that. How about a little Chopin?