The purpose of an encyclopedia is to collect knowledge disseminated around the globe; to set forth its general system to the men with whom we live, and transmit it to those who will come after us, so that the work of preceding centuries will not become useless to the centuries to come; and so that our offspring, becoming better instructed, will at the same time become more virtuous and happy, and that we should not die without having rendered a service to the human race in the future years to come. (emphasis mine)
What struck me about this quotation is the phrase I’ve highlighted and its underlying assumption that there is a necessary connection between virtue and knowledge. This seems to me to be a rather typical idea of the European Enlightenment. Nevertheless, I think it could be argued that such a view persists today. There is often a tendency to assume that those who are better educated are also morally better in some way. To be ignorant, on the other hand, is in some sense a moral defect. Furthermore, I don’t think this is exclusively a viewpoint held by Westerners. Traditionally in China, in part perhaps thanks to Confucius, it was thought the well-educated were most likely to be the most ethical and therefore worthy of holding public office. I believe such a view continues to held sway among many Chinese.
It would also appear that during the Enlightenment the drive to increase knowledge was often linked to an effort to weaken the power of Christianity. The view held by at least some figures in the Enlightenment was that religion and ignorance were linked (Jefferson wrote somewhere about “monkish superstition,” as I recall). Helping people gain greater knowledge of the world would cause them to view the world more according to reason than the dogmas of religion. This in turn would make them morally superior. Thus, Diderot (as quoted in the article), wrote, “It is not enough for us to know more than Christians; we must show them we are better.”
To be fair, it would be difficult to deny that historically (and even today) there has been an anti-intellectual cast of mind among some Christians. The emphasis has been so much on the virtue of faith, of belief, that knowledge has been given short shrift. One has just to believe—it is not necessary to understand. However, it is equally undeniable that Christianity has a long and important intellectual tradition. For example, the modern university and modern science would not exist without Christianity (points I believe I’ve made previously). As I (and I think others) would argue, faith is extremely important, but there is no reason that such a faith cannot be reinforced by knowledge—about history, about science, about the arts, etc.
However, perhaps more interesting to discuss is whether in fact knowledge and virtue are necessarily connected. If we reflect on this point, I believe we will be forced to conclude that they are not. Indeed, some knowledge can actually lead to evil. After all, the serpent promised Eve that if she ate the forbidden fruit, she would be like God, “knowing good and evil,” yet we know the result of the “knowledge” she subsequently gained. In more recent times, men learned how to use the power of the atom to construct the most destructive weapons in history, with tragic results. On the other hand, some knowledge undoubtedly leads to the morally good.The Lord Jesus Himself said in the Gospels, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Knowledge of the world around us can lead us to greater praise of its Creator. The problem seems to be not whether knowledge, in and of itself, is good or bad, but rather the nature of knowledge in question and how it is used.
Moreover, as contrary as it may seem to people in the 21st century, who are indoctrinated in the idea that more knowledge is an imperative, perhaps there are some things that it would be better for us not to know. When the Lord Jesus was asked by His disciples as to when exactly he would return, he told them that it was not for them to know, perhaps because it would been an impediment to faith.
In addition, sometimes knowledge leads to excessive pride. The classic illustration of this truth in literature is Doctor Faustus in Christopher Marlowe’s play The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. In the epilogue of the play, the audience is warned not to follow the example of Faustus, whose overwhelming desire for knowledge leads him to “practice more than heavenly power permits” and consequently lose his life.
All of this is not to say that knowledge per se is a bad thing. Otherwise, this blog would not exist, given that it seeks to explore the life of faith and the mind. Rather, knowledge has to be kept in balance with other things. Moreover, we need to resist the temptation of thinking, as Diderot apparently did, that knowledge automatically results in virtue. True, lasting virtue is ultimately the result of knowing God and being known by Him; knowledge by itself is insufficient to make us good people.