Sept. 2000

Human Knowledge Acquisition

Perception, limitations of knowledge, and the differences between human and animal communication are several prominent themes in Jacob Brownowski’s The Origins of Knowledge and Imagination. Bronowski discuses these topics on a range of levels from the specific aspects of neuroscience through the more broad concepts of closed and open systems. Perception is important to gain knowledge and have an imagination because it is how we see the world. We can learn by perceiving the world and people around us. Because we live in an open system, learning is never-ending. By looking at ancient art one can see how much human knowledge and communication have developed over time. From cuneiform to hieroglyphics to modern writing it is evident how perception and knowledge have evolved. Advanced forms of communication are proof that although we gain more knowledge every day, we create more unknowns with every new thing learned. An example of this is the development of technology. As technology has developed we realize that there are no limits to what can be done. This exploration of the unknown is what learning is. Scientists and poets alike use imagination to try and extend their knowledge and create a more highly developed system. The act of imagination is the opening of the system so that it shows new connections. Scientist use imagination and take risks to try and imagine and understand the unknown. Poets use imagination to take risks and extend the meaning and interpretation of language. All information is imperfect because people make mistakes and science deals with the unknown. Some scientists believe that they are working to create a closed system. They believe that once they have completed their work then we are one step closer to creating a closed system, yet no new discoveries can take place in a closed system because science could not exist if a closed system were created. It will always be impossible to create a closed system because there is always more to learn. Finding a cure for a disease such as AIDS would be an example of where it may seem that once it is done it would no longer be relevant to deal with. Although the actual disease would be extinguished, there are many social issues involved that need to be dealt with. Once we learn everything about a subject it is no longer relevant unless it helps us learn about some other unknown. Science is a forever-open system. The world will never become a closed system because with every new piece of knowledge the system extends. If new discoveries don’t extend the unknown then they are used to solve other unknowns.

When someone is unwilling to realize that they cannot know and understand everything there is then there arise problems. Open-mindedness is needed in exploring the unknown in any sort of language, literature, science, etc. "There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they be scientist or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy. All information is imperfect. We have to treat it with humility. That is the human condition, and that is what quantum physics says."

Learning is never complete. We can never learn everything there is and that is why we do no live in a closed system. Learning is a never-ending process because once we learn something new we are brought to a new level where there is even more to learn. Learning is not like the pyramid some scientists may wish it were; it is rather an inverse pyramid. Once one gains knowledge there is even more to learn. For instance once a baby learns how to communicate the whole world opens up to him. He can then learn how to do basic skills such as counting or reading. When he can think abstractly there is even more open to him to discover. Every new skill or fact learned is like a door that can be opened up a whole new level of knowledge.

Perception is the way in which we gain knowledge. While human perception is limited, knowledge is unlimited. Most knowledge of external world is found through the eye while most knowledge of other people is found through hearing. Because we perceive and therefore learn through our senses one would think that people who do not have one of their senses would not be able to perceive, communicate or learn. Because this is not true (people who do not have one of their senses can usually perceive, communicate, and learn) it shows that it is a combination of senses that allows one to gain knowledge and communicate. Vision and hearing are two of the most important senses in perceiving and learning. Vision lets you know what things are, hearing lets you understand them. Learning is taking chances to understand the unknown. The process of learning involves changing one’s perception to extend knowledge and therefore make connections between things that were previously unrelated. Communication is vitally important in learning because the human brain is limited therefore we need to communicate in order to extend our knowledge. Recognition is not perfect because it involves perception, which can be distorted. "In the act of recognition, a judgment is built in — an area of tolerance or uncertainty . . . No events, not even atomic events, can be described with certainty, with zero tolerance" (Knowledge or certainty).

Communication between people has developed greatly throughout history. It is by creating a common language in which people can better understand each other that knowledge is created. Foresight, prolongation of reference, internalization, and stratification are four aspects that make human communication different from animal communication. These aspects are therefore also important in learning. Just as animals can never communicate or learn as humans do, machines will never be able to replace people. The complex open system, which we live in, cannot be put into a closed system such as a machine. There are limits to why there can’t be human machines. Humans can reflect on themselves, which is a concept machines cannot perform.

The various themes Bronowski presents in his lectures are all connected through the ideas of knowledge and imagination. In the open system of which we live learning is a never-ending process and knowledge and imagination keep it that way.