Today, I want to write about knowledge and perspective – how we look at our own knowledge and the knowledge of others in the world around us. Putting things in perspective – particularly knowledge – is one of the most important elements that can help all of us live life more fully and make the world a better place for everyone. The value of knowledge on this planet is not necessarily determined by the way we acquire knowledge (by a higher education degree or by life experience), but by how we perceive knowledge. Far too often we value the former over the later.
Knowledge is acquired each day in many ways. Gaining knowledge happens all day, every day with all of our interactions with other people. It’s inevitable that someone, some time, is going to share knowledge that we disagree with or that perhaps hurts us in some way. Some knowledge claims are going to occur that make it seem like the world is never going to change for the better. But the important thing about that, of course, is how we perceive the diversity of knowledge in this world – how we value this diversity of knowledge to ultimately combine this knowledge to make the world a better place. It’s all about understanding knowledge and perspective.
Take for example a recent viral video of Jane Svoboda, a woman from Nebraska, USA who makes some rather strong claims against gays, lesbians and bisexuals.
From my knowledge perspective I consider her claims to be extremely homophobic (as do many others). But from her knowledge perspective she stands by her convictions (while others laugh) to share her knowledge claims. Is she crazy (as many claim) or just in need of further knowledge? (I later found out that this woman does have mental health issues). Again, it’s all about perspective. Can we still learn from this so-called knowledge? Yes. But do we just leave it there? No – because knowledge to make the world a better place requires action. Yet action that is respectful of others and open to dialogue with others. Creating valuable knowledge to make the world a better place is about combining the diversity of knowledge in this world through action. Knowledge without shared action is useless.
Although I strongly disagree with this woman’s homophobic knowledge claims (some people may claim this isn’t even knowledge), I was extremely impressed with the diplomatic and organized manner in which she was allowed to speak in such a procedural context. It’s always the first step in sharing knowledgeto make the world a better place – even though it’s knowledge that we disagree with or perhaps hurts us in some way.
But sharing knowledge is not just a one way street. I would hope that this woman would also be deeply open to listening to the knowledge of others. This is the next step in sharing knowledge to make the world a better place. Being open to dialogue and learning from the diversity of knowledge around us changes our knowledge for social benefit for everyone – and ultimately makes the world a better place for everyone. Knowledge has many perspectives. Combining these perspectives and knowledge is what matters.
So perhaps, instead of laughing at or deriding someone else’s knowledge claims (even though we strongly feel compelled to do so), if we saw this as an opportunity to begin to share knowledge – by combining our knowledge – to make the world a better place for all of us, we might begin to make a difference.
If we take the world and its diversity of knowledge without further action by sharing our knowledge, we will only see the hurt and hate in the world around us. If we keep in mind that there is a diversity of knowledge in the world waiting to be combined – improved for everyone through action – and that all knowledge is a matter of degree – of perspective – we can begin to make a difference.
In that perspective lies a realistic view of the world that can allow us to take this diversity of knowledge with a high degree of equanimity and pragmatism that tells us that yes, some knowledge claims seem so far-fetched and need to be adjusted – but life on this planet is about a diversity of knowledge. It’s how we share this diversity of knowledge with our actions – how we put this knowledge in perspective – that can make the world a better place.
We often don’t want things to change. We want the same old and comfortable things, the same and regular routines, the reliable beliefs and knowledge, the enjoyable jobs, the trustful and loving relationships, the same friends, the innocent children, the enjoyable types of music that reminds us of the “good old days” – and the familiar neighbourhoods that always stay the same.
I’m often torn between the desire to have things stay the same and finding new things in my life that may bring challenges, new perspectives and growth. But as we know – nothing stays the same – not even knowledge. This is what knowledge mobilization is all about. When we want things to stay the same it brings to mind someone who is intolerant of change, intolerant of others – and intolerant of a diversity of knowledge.
We live in a world filled with a diversity of people and a diversity of knowledge. We need to learn to accept that growth is about being open to change based on the concept of accepting others as they are at any given time – with knowledge that may be different from our own.
It’s important for us to learn to combine our knowledgefor social benefit rather than trying to exert our will on anything to try to get it not to change so it will stay the same as what we think it should be. When we accept others and their knowledge as they are at any given time, their value and their uniqueness are clear to us – and we don’t feel a need to keep things the same for our sake.
When we combine such diversity of knowledge for social benefit we begin to deepen understanding, eliminate fear and intolerance, and move towards making the world a better place.
When I think of all the places I have travelled in the world and all the people I have been privileged to meet, I know that all of the diversity of knowledge that I have experienced – and continue to experience – has made me a better person. But we don’t have to be world travellers going to a multitude of countries to share knowledge for social benefit. We are fortunate to be living in a world where we can connect to each other and to the diversity of knowledge in this world thanks to the power of the Internet and social media.
Being open to diverse knowledge, connecting it to our own by combining knowledge, and changing knowledge for social benefit through knowledge mobilization is a unique skill that we all can learn. When we give up trying to see how our own knowledge is “better” based on our own intolerant social lenses, we learn to combine knowledge for social benefit that can change the world and make it a much happier place for everyone.
I recently read a very interesting article by Stuart Firestein for Scientific American Online titled What Science Wants To Know. Firestein’s approach is directed more at scientists and scholars – rightly pointing out that “what makes a scientisit is ignorance.”
Science isn’t just about providing answers and creating new knowledge – science is about the ongoing processof asking questions to gain more knowledge to ask more questions to gain more knowledge to ask more questions… Knowledge continues to evolve as an ongoing process.
On a more holistic level that is inclusive of everyone – this is Knowledge Mobilization (KMb), with everyone sharing the knowledge they have and continuing to ask questions with anyone they meet to constantly evolve knowledge for social beneift – and utltimately make the world a better place.
The pursuit of knowledge isn’t just about the knowledge you have – it’s also about the knowledge you want – and the knowledge you need to make the world a better place. Firestein’s reminder that science is more about the questions than the answersisn’t just something exclusive to scientists and scholars. Any followers of my Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) KMbeing blog know that I believe we can all take this approach.
It’s not only about sharing the knowledge you have, but also about being open to asking more and more questions to get the knowledge you want – and gain the knowledge we all need to make the world a better place.
One of the best parts of a person’s life is the ability to share knowledge with kindness and love for all humanity.
I am always a bit disappointed when I hear people say they do not have any knowledge to share – or have no ability to make humanity any better. People may think they have no knowledge to share, but everyone is full of life experiences that have created individual knowledge that can be shared with the rest of us. If the intention of sharing that knowledge is to make the world a better place – including even in the life of one other person it is shared with – then it can be valuable knowledge.
I get disappointed because individuals devalue themselves when they devalue their own knowledge. If I share my knowledge today as a way of sharing personal experience, someone else may remember it for the rest of their life – and it may move them on tomorrow to do completely new and different things to make the world a better place as they learn from my knowledge. They might even combine my knowledge with their own knowledge to do something valuable for someone else today.
One of the best parts of our lives is making connections with other people – those close to us or even on the other side of the planet. We can fill each day with such a diversity of knowledge sharing – and it takes very little effort when all is said and done. I can share a piece of my knowledge with someone else or be open to learning from the knowledge of others. All it takes is really listening to another person and sharing what we know through our individual life experiences.
Sharing knowledge is not expensive – and it doesn’t have to be highly “intellectual”. It just has to come from a place of wanting to make the world better for everyone. If each of us can take a moment each day to share knowledge to make the world a better place then we definitely will one person at a time – one piece of knowledge at a time – for all humanity.
Regardless of race, color, national origin, religious belief or disbelief, sex, gender identity, physical or mental disability, medical condition, ancestry, marital status, age or sexual orientation – we all have knowledge to share and knowledge to learn to make the world a better place.
I recently attended a lecture at the Centre for Social Innovation, sponsored by New Acropolis Toronto, and presented by guest speaker and philosopher, Parth Doshi. The lecture was titled Gandhi…The power to change the world. The afternoon presentation was divided into two sections: the first, providing an overview of Gandhi’s life – emphasizing Gandhi’s concept of satyagraha– and the second, focusing on the early influence of theosophy on Gandhi’s spirituality.
Doshi is a very interesting, eloquent and articulate speaker, and he interspersed clips from the film Gandhi (played by Ben Kingsley) to provide a great visual complement to the lecture. Although I enjoyed the lecture very much, I couldn’t help but feel that the second section – with Doshi overly using the word spirituality – became more of a religious sermon rather than a philosophical lecture.
Don’t get me wrong. I can appreciate that when speaking about Gandhi one may need to make use of the word spirituality to describe the personal and powerful drives that contextually influenced him during his life – and that make Gandhi one of the great leaders and influencers of the 20th century and today. However, spirituality is now such a historically heavy-laden and currently alienating term for many that perhaps speaking more about the enduring and deep humanvirtues of love, compassion and peace – without alluding to spirituality – might be better suited for a “philosophical” lecture.
Does religion/spirituality have any place in a philosophy lecture – especially in a world that continues to be divided by such ideals? We now live in a world today where spirituality and religion are far too often conflated and marginalizing. Perhaps it’s my own bias against the alienating use of the term spirituality that’s showing.
Any of my KMbeing blog followers will know that my emphasis on the power of knowledge sharing to make the world a better place does includes the human virtues of love, compassion and peace – but I never want to alienate anyone by sending out unintentional messages of religion or spirituality.
As someone who has extensively studied philosophy, theology and comparative religions, I now recognize that knowledge sharing may include views of spirituality, but the human virtues of love, compassion and peace as part of knowledge sharing (or philosophy) need not include spirituality. We live in a world where many still believe in the power of spirituality, but I think we need to move beyond the divisiveness of using spiritual concepts to embrace the basic human values of love, compassion and peace – based on personal lived experiences – that also shape our knowledge sharing – which can exist regardless of spiritual beliefs. I believe we are now living in a time when we need to emphasize the power of basic human values like love, compassion and peace as part of basic human knowledg sharing rather than spirituality to make the world a better place.
Gandhi said, “Be the change you want the world to be.” I say, make the knowledge sharing decisions you want the world to be.
Gandhi also said, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
The need to share knowledge encompasses every area of our lives. Since time is limited, we need to choose wisely the knowledge we’re going to share that will take up that time. Since knowledge can be used for benefit or knowledge can be used for harm, we need to choose what we will use our knowledge for. Are you making the world a better place with the knowledge you share or are you contributing to the problems that constrain humanity?
I know some people who ignore the knowledge of others or don’t value their own knowledge. They don’t practice knowledge sharing for social benefit at all – they never sit down and ask “is this type of knowledge sharing making the world a better or worse place?” “Is this type of knowledge sharing alienating others or focusing on our common human values?” They tend to live without being aware of the needs of others, without being able to see when certain knowledge sharing is harmful or when it might be of value.
Life is short – we all know that. We may get overwhelmed by what’s going on in our lives, but each experience – either negative or positive – can be turned into knowledge. When we learn to choose to share our knowledge for benefit, our personal knowledge becomes effective. When all is said and done – life is about making knowledge decisions. The world of tomorrow depends upon the knowledge decisions that each of us make today. And how do we learn to choose wisely the knowledge we’re going to share? We observe the results of our knowledge decisions. Do I reflect on my own knowledge? Do I value my own knowledge? Do I feel my knowledge sharing is making the world a better place? Am I open to the knowledge sharing of others? Do my knowledge decisions bring peace or conflict? Are my knowledge decisions inclusive or marginalizing? It certainly is not my intention to alienate as well with this blog, and I hope this blog will only help to further enlighten.
Doshi spoke about how Gandhi used a cycle of study, action, experience and reflection to live his virtuous life.
I couldn’t help but think that knowledge should have been included in this cycle. As two of my earlier blogs point out (previous blog & previous blog) knowledge is not something stagnant, it’s a dynamic process – a cycle – that continues to flow and be re-evaluated to create new knowledge – especially for social benefit.
Once we learn to observe and reflect on the value of our own knowledge – for everyone has knowledge to share – then we can make knowledge decisions that will truly help all of us in life that is inclusive for all of humanity.
Feeling stupid is something few of us like. We want to sound intelligent but sometimes cannot let go of the uncertainties and fears – uncertainties and fears about our own ideas, beliefs, habits and thoughts and mistakes we make in comparison to other people in a negative way. Feeling stupid is simply being out of contact with our own knowledge, abilities and confidence. Feeling stupid is about comparing ourselves to others in a negative way instead of seeing the value of our own individuality. When we feel stupid we know we are stuck and embarrassed, but we have to remember that everyone has moments of feeling stupid. The solution: recognize this and move beyond your uncertainties and fears. Stop comparing yourself to others, and have confidence in your own knowledge and abilities to move forward to let go of your “stupidity”. From moments of “stupidity” come moments of new knowledge if we let go and move forward.
Letting go of your stupidity is sometimes difficult. We tend to hold on to those things that embarrass us or make us feel inadequate simply because we learned to whenever we feel stupid. We forget that everyone has also felt this way at one time or another. Everyone has felt stupid or inadequate. Were our teachers or parents enlightened people to help us recognize this, or were only the “smart” people or actions always pointed out and rewarded. “Smart” people? “Stupid” people? All of us have fallen into these categories at one time or another. Were our teachers or parents focused on teaching us what was best for us as unique individuals, or on strictly passing on their own brand of knowledge – something that worked for them but which might not have been best for us?
Our own knowledge is about looking at the new, the untried, the different – and making mistakes. Making mistakes is how we learn and acquire more knowledge.Our knowledge lies in growth – and the one constant in growth is change. Without change, there is no growth, and without letting go of yesterday’s beliefs and ideas of “stupidity” there’s no room for new knowledge.
There’s something limiting about hanging on to our own “stupidity”. It can be like carrying a large rock tied to us that weighs us down and prevents us from moving forward and acquiring more knowledge. In some ways it can represent “failure” – but in many ways, failure is the best way to learn and gain knowledge. Sticking to our “stupidity” and not moving forward from our mistakes is like putting up a curtain in front of our windows and not letting in the sunlight of new knowledge. We are stuck in the darkness of our own “stupidity” and we believe in it and think we are the only ones to have ever felt stupid.
We have to be active in letting go of our own sense of stupidity – having the confidence to move forward and learn new knowledge from our failures and mistakes. We have to consider that everyone has felt stupid – and let that be the only comparison we make with others. We have to value our own individuality and learning abilities and stop comparing ourselves to others. Have confidence in your own knowledge, learn new knowledge from your failures and mistakes – and let go of your “stupidity”.
