Literary notes about knowledge (AI summary)
In literature, "knowledge" is portrayed as a multifaceted concept that transcends mere information gathering to become a moral, philosophical, and practical ideal. Sacred texts, for instance, emphasize a quest for knowledge over acts of wickedness, suggesting that a righteous spirit is defined by its pursuit of wisdom [1, 2, 3]. At the same time, philosophical works examine the nature of knowledge by probing the differences between empirical understanding and innate wisdom, as seen in discourses on a priori and rational knowledge [4, 5, 6]. In narrative and reflective writings, knowledge is both a tool for personal growth and a marker of social distinction, capable of bestowing authority or even exposing human limitations [7, 8, 9, 10]. This diverse use of the term underscores its enduring role in literature as an essential element in the exploration of truth, morality, and the human condition [11, 12].
- The heart of the wicked seeketh after evils, but the righteous heart seeketh after knowledge.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Knowledge is a fountain of life to him that possesseth it: the instruction of fools is foolishness.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - His knowledge has not been drawn from reason; and although, objectively considered, it is rational knowledge, subjectively, it is merely historical.
— from The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant - Knowledge of this kind is called a priori, in contradistinction to empirical knowledge, which has its sources a posteriori, that is, in experience.
— from The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant - We know more about the aborigines of the world than formerly, but our increasing knowledge shows above all things how little we know.
— from The Republic by Plato - How can he remember well his ignorance—which his growth requires—who has so often to use his knowledge?
— from Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau - Every neighbourhood where he ever lived has declared that his distinction was due to his knowledge of its popular speech.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais - “You don’t think the bank had any knowledge of his real name?
— from The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad - Her intellect was nothing to boast of, and her literary knowledge very doubtful.
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - (LLA 101) 1.75 ——: Plato’s Theory of Knowledge .
— from The Enchiridion by Epictetus - Still, I take a higher point of view, and have before me a more important object, namely, the progress of the knowledge of truth among the human race.
— from Essays of Schopenhauer by Arthur Schopenhauer