Posted by Daan de Koning on August 18, 1999 at 05:33:07:

In Reply to: Re: Can knowledge be wrong? posted by Kees de Vos on August 18, 1999 at 04:41:32:

Kees,

I refer to Wittgenstein and his 'Tractatus Logico Philosophicus'. It is a difficult to comprehend text about the question:
Are we able to decide if a sentence is true or false. (I see some same-ness with your puzzlement here)

In order to answer this question we have to be sure that the sentence is indeed a statement about reality (because it makes no sense to investigate the true- or falseness of sentences that are not about reality, example;
"in the world we cannot see, everything is blue"
grammatically correct, but impossible to say if it is true or not.

Second, we have to know what is real and what isn't, we have to know the thin line where reality ends. This line is like the horizon, (and once people thought that at the end, everything would fall down). Only OUTSIDE earth, we can see it is round. you need carefull observation (e.g. of a ship leaving the cost, and the last thing you can see on shore is the top of the sails) and great imagination to see the earth as a globe.

Same with reality, to be SURE where it ends, you have to be OUTSIDE reality, and that is, BY DEFINITION impossible.

Knowledge can be wrong. However, we, the merely mortal humans, restricted to live in our reality, are not able to decide if knowledge is wrong or right (at least not in our time). That's why mankind has invented God. He makes the ultimate decision about right and wrong. With knowledge comes awareness and consciousness. He had good reason to forbid Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge. And yes, from this line of argumentation, God can exist only, and have his almighty powers if he is not part of reality.

You see, Kees, knowledge management is ancient. With knowledge management the IT industry matures, and it will loose its innocence. Until now, we were in paradise, but not aware of it. And now we gain knowledge, we will become aware that we are no longer in paradise, and we are lost, for we don't know the way back, since it is closed with knowledge.

You write you are puzzled, know that you're not the first and not the only one.

live long and prosper
(or na-noo na-noo as Mork from Ork would say)
Daan de Koning

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Follow Ups:

• Re: Can knowledge be wrong? Richard 17:09:09 8/24/99 (7)
  • The Irony of Meaning Daan de Koning 17:21:23 8/25/99 (3)
    • Re: The Irony of Meaning Richard 19:52:35 8/26/99 (2)
      • Re: The Irony of Meaning Daan de Koning 10:08:23 8/27/99 (1)
        • Re: The Irony of Meaning Richard 14:47:44 8/28/99 (0)
  • Can knowledge be wrong? The Meaning of Irony 19:01:15 8/24/99 (2)
    • They didn't really sign up ... honest! Martyn R Jones 19:05:48 8/24/99 (1)
      • :-))))))))))))))))))))) Kees de Vos 17:37:10 8/25/99 (0)
• Wrong, untrue, incorrect or out of context Martyn R Jones 08:42:16 8/18/99 (12)
  • Re: Wrong, untrue, incorrect or out of context Daan de Koning 18:26:41 8/18/99 (11)
    • Re: Wrong, untrue, incorrect or out of context Reilly Atkinson 00:33:04 8/20/99 (10)
      • the truth, the only truth and nothing but KM Daan de Koning 05:20:16 8/20/99 (9)
        • Re: the truth, the only truth and nothing but KM Reilly Atkinson 22:08:42 8/23/99 (8)
          • Re: the truth, the only truth and nothing but KM Daan de Koning 04:50:14 8/24/99 (7)
            • Re: there are exceptions (small fish eating the bigger fish) Kees de Vos 17:53:26 8/25/99 (0)
            • Less is More Martyn R Jones 12:16:12 8/24/99 (5)
              • Re: Less is More Reilly Atkinson 19:55:59 8/26/99 (4)
                • Re: Less is More Richard 07:29:03 8/29/99 (3)
                  • Re: Less is More Reilly Atkinson 20:25:28 8/29/99 (2)
                    • Re: Less is More Richard 15:00:08 8/31/99 (1)
                      • Re: Less is More Reilly Atkinson 16:05:02 9/01/99 (0)

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