A question directed to the nerds amongst us here.
It goes without saying that I highly value knowledge. Intellectual reading is a constant in my lifestyle, and I've even gone so far as to initiate my own study routine even though I'm in no school institution. (I'm also preparing to take it on again.) It takes knowledge to be able to deal with life and existence successfully, and it is knowledge that I do not neglect.
I'm wondering, however, if it could be possible for people to have different motivations for a love of learning than the one I've identified. If you love to learn, then I ask: Why? Why do you value it and what impact does it have on you?
For me, it's about mastering reality. The only way to have successful actions and pursuits is to have the necessary knowledge and thinking skills to complete such feats. You can't just learn a static amount or depend on what other people say; you've got to be mentally active your entire life to be able to deal with a changing world. People who don't will find themselves unhappy and impotent.
My enjoyment comes from the use of my learning, in which my knowledge physically demonstrates itself. It can be anything, whether it be an emotional change from successful introspection, a good meal cooked with new methods, a solution to a business problem, and more. The more achievement I earn, the more I see before me how important knowledge is and how it drives my life upwards. The very reason why I love to cook is epistemological: It represents the full process of knowledge: the learning of scientific theory, the physical challenge of its application, and the sensuously pleasurable results. It shows the entire cycle of how knowledge works in reality.
Some people, I know, love learning as its own end and aren't concerned solely with practical applications, and I admit I don't quite understand that. It also makes me wonder if there could be other reasons and motives, and I'm interested in hearing them.
So what roles do learning and knowledge play in your life?
In general I enjoy learning for the process itself more than any result or application of learning. I like being in my head, thinking, solving problems, imagining things, developing theories. I like to think that all my learning will give me lots of material for contemplation when I'm an old invalid. When I was a child, I thought I'd want to stay in school forever. By the time I was 18, however, I couldn't wait to be done and start applying my knowledge. So I'm not one those people who are opposed to practical applications, but I'd still say my primary motivation does not come from the practical to any significant degree. I just like to know interesting things because they are interesting.
ReplyDeleteI like your perspective on cooking, but I doubt epistemology is really the reason why you love it. You could say the same thing about hundreds of careers i.e. creating sculpture requires scientific knowledge, the physical challenge of its application, and the sensuously pleasurable results. You could apply that epistemic approach to literally any career, which is exactly what people who are great innovators do. A specific love of cooking is far more, well, specific.