Building Up Knowledge Pt. 2

A Little More Information

Will commented on part one that T.S. Eliot spoke about the "Knowledge Pyramid" idea in his poem "The Rock." Here is part of that poem here.

The endless cycle of idea and action,
Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word.
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to GOD.
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

I think this helps highlight what I was searching for with my last post. I was seeking, firstly, the steps that take us from information, to knowledge or applied information. Eliot didn't see this as simply a ladder, or something that we only go up. There is a cycle. Ideas lead to actions and back to ideas. He also points out that we can slide back down the pyramid, losing wisdom or knowledge in the endless seeking of information.

So at some point we need to cease gathering information, and act, in order to rise up the pyramid. Or at least, to cycle between two steps of the pyramid.

What is it that brings a person to action? We act every day, but not always based simply on information. Sometimes we act on false information. Other times we act against the information that we have. I have met people that think a person's will is an illusion, and I have met others who think every small decision a person makes determines the shape of the future. I've been thinking a lot about the will lately. What is this thing, what influences it, and what influence does it have on other things?