Is knowledge the root of all evil?

[Aoi Magi]

But Aoi, what if the truth for us primates really still is the law of the jungle from whence we came and violence is our only true universal language?

Trump didn't become a billionaire by being a nice man... Neither did humans conquer the food chain by being nice to other animals...

Man never was as physically capable as many of the animals in the food chain, yet we triumphed because we had more knowledge than them. It was because we had the knowledge to weaponize ourselves did we manage to be more violent. But it was also our lack of knowledge which prevented us from finding better ways of survival and co-existence.

If Trump doesn't play it nice with China, his fortune, himself, and the rest of us will all go extinct with him.
If we don't start playing nice with the animals and bees, we will go extinct with them.

Lack of knowledge might offer the illusion of short-term victories, but without knowledge there is no foresight, and without foresight there is no survival.

[ignoramus]

So basically what you're saying is ...
All knowledge is important in helping to guide us for better survival...
But it's also what we do with it that affects us greatly.

[Aoi Magi]

So basically what you're saying is ...
All knowledge is important in helping to guide us for better survival...
But it's also what we do with it that affects us greatly.

yes.

[ignoramus]

hypothetical ... Let's say the Trumpster starts a nuclear fight and invites the whole world to join in...
We destroy ourselves ... (And the universe is peaceful once again)

In retrospect, would we have been better off without the knowledge of e=mc2?
In which case, how and when can we know what knowledge will have a net sum positive effect and which won't?

[Aoi Magi]

hypothetical ... Let's say the Trumpster starts a nuclear fight and invites the whole world to join in...
We destroy ourselves ... (And the universe is peaceful once again)

In retrospect, would we have been better off without the knowledge of e=mc2?
In which case, how and when can we know what knowledge will have a net sum positive effect and which won't?

First the universe never was peaceful, and we humans are too insignificant make any difference on that scale.

As for e=mc2, no, it didn't just create nukes, it enabled us to actually make progress towards the space age, which is a necessity to our survival unless we want to suffer the same fate as the dinosaurs, Man made nukes are nothing compared natural alternatives buzzing past us in space. Also the nuke necessarily ain't bad. Humans were destroying each other quite well without it. In fact knowledge of the nuke and the deterrence it provides is the reason behind the present peace we are all enjoying.

We do not posses absolute knowledge and hence we cannot even be sure about what is net "positive", and that is a pretty subjective term anyway, however the more knowledge we gain the better we can form decisions regarding things contained within the scope and domain of the knowledge. So we must always seek to increase the boundaries of our collective knowledge.

[Won2blv]

Knowledge is what allows us to recognize and fix evil. Gaps-of-knowledge or ignorance is the root of evil.

Chimps, heck even pigeons fight and do a whole lot of bad things. All animals do, no matter how primitive they might be, they act on their instincts, which as we all know, isn't always a good thing. We humans get to control our instincts because of our knowledge of possible repercussions.

Terrorists don't commit those atrocities due to some supreme knowledge, rather they do so due to their ignorance which prevents them from realizing the truth which most other humans do. Ignorance leads to fear, while knowledge empowers us.

Would you agree that the ignorance is based in some kind of "knowledge."

I am not saying that just because someone thinks its true, makes it true. I am saying that humans have brains that are prediction machines. Like google. And like google, the algorithm could be skewed to produce false results that would be perceived as the most accurate.

So again, I am not saying that we should question whether or not the sky is blue, its when someone says, the sky is blue, blue is my favorite color, therefore, I will win the lottery tomorrow.

Our cognitive ability allows us to make hypotheticals. Then when we see the hypothetical play out, it reinforces our original theory, or it is evidence against. When I say knowledge is evil, is when humans take those hypotheticals and make them prophecies in their mind. When a prophecy does not come true, the believer in it doesn't easily just let go. They find ways to justify their prophecy and sometimes they justify that it was someone else fault, therefore they are now justified to act in an evil way, for a greater good.

[Aoi Magi]

No, ignorance is the lack of knowledge, like cold is absence of heat.

How we choose to utilise our knowledge or lack thereof is on us, not on the little bit of knowledge we do have.

Even if we didn't have knowledge, it wouldn't prevent us from doing what we see as bad things. You can find such behavior everywhere in nature. However our knowledge does enable us to control ourselves.

[Won2blv]

No, ignorance is the lack of knowledge, like cold is absence of heat.

How we choose to utilise our knowledge or lack thereof is on us, not on the little bit of knowledge we do have.

Even if we didn't have knowledge, it wouldn't prevent us from doing what we see as bad things. You can find such behavior everywhere in nature. However our knowledge does enable us to control ourselves.

Do you get what I am saying? I am not talking about true or false. I am simply saying, sometimes people have false beliefs that they feel are justified, right or wrong. Whenever anyone comes to a conclusion and believes they know everything there is to know, they make more and more unjustified predictions. So, I'm talking about a subjective knowledge and you are talking about an objective one. The problem is that people can subjectively decide that their knowledge is objective, making it an absolute truth.

[Aoi Magi]

Do you get what I am saying? I am not talking about true or false. I am simply saying, sometimes people have false beliefs that they feel are justified, right or wrong. Whenever anyone comes to a conclusion and believes they know everything there is to know, they make more and more unjustified predictions. So, I'm talking about a subjective knowledge  and you are talking about an objective one. The problem is that people can subjectively decide that their knowledge is objective, making it an absolute truth.

but with the OP title in mind, those who decide what they know is absolutely true and end up clinging to false assumptions are doing so due to a lack of knowledge. So, knowledge isn't the root of all evil. That's all I am saying.

[Won2blv]

Do you get what I am saying? I am not talking about true or false. I am simply saying, sometimes people have false beliefs that they feel are justified, right or wrong. Whenever anyone comes to a conclusion and believes they know everything there is to know, they make more and more unjustified predictions. So, I'm talking about a subjective knowledge  and you are talking about an objective one. The problem is that people can subjectively decide that their knowledge is objective, making it an absolute truth.

but with the OP title in mind, those who decide what they know is absolutely true and end up clinging to false assumptions are doing so due to a lack of knowledge. So, knowledge isn't the root of all evil. That's all I am saying.

So we agree basically?

I am making the argument that we should think and reason, but never with the idea that we can truly know anything. Like for example, you know that the sky is blue. But if you woke up one day it was orange, you would have a number of options. More than likely, you would assume that there was either a physical change or something in your mind. You would not just simply say, I know the sky is blue, so it is still blue. You most certainly wouldn't say, "I am sad today, and that is why the sky is orange" You would be open to the fact that something you once knew to be true and knowledge is not knowledge anymore.