|
|
 |
|
|
|
register |
bbs |
search |
rss |
faq |
about
|
|
|
meet up |
add to del.icio.us |
digg it
|
|
|
|
Man's Quest for Knowledge [PAPER]
In today's world, a great many of the devices and
methods for doing the things we do were created only within
the past hundred years, and an almost as great number of them
within our lifetimes. Invention is commonplace, and our
minds are geared toward devising new objects and methods for
making life easier or more efficient. In ancient cultures,
the quest for knowledge did not accelerate in advancement at
the same rate it does in modern times. The limited
technological knowledge that existed passed from one
generation to the next, and improvements upon those devices
and methods that made life easier than it was for thier
ancestors were few and far between compared to modern life.
Those devices and methods had existed and had been in use for
generations; there was little thought of new devices or
methods. As well, many of those who did think along the
lines of making the activities in life easier or more
efficient probably did not have the excess time or energy
neccesary to devote to invention. This mentality applied to
all sorts of knowledge, including spiritual knowledge.
Knowledge could be received and accumulated by people, but it
simply was not something that routinely originated from
mankind.
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, as well as the world
described by the Greek plays and poems, knowledge comes to
mankind via humans, but does not originate from humanity.
Knowledge starts at a divine level, and comes down to
humanity Through people chosen by their god. Even that which
is claimed to come from the self is perceived as divine
inspiration. Homer does not give himself credit for the
Iliad or the Odyssey , but instead asks at the beginning of
each poem to be graced by the presence of a spirit, the Muse,
to sing the story for him, through his mouth. Likewise the
Judaic and the Christian books of the Bible are supposed to
be written only manually by their authors, having been
inspired by God. There are those that maintain that those
books without named authors were created directly by God.
Both cultures also had a large number of prophets and oracles
who spoke to the masses with the voice of their patron deity.
The Gospel According to Saint Matthew is the story of
Christianity's greatest prophet, who many profess to be not
only the vehicle for the Christian god, but a partial or
complete manifestation of the deity. The writing of The
Gospel According to Saint Matthew does not even acknowledge
Matthew, except in the title. The writer is a vehicle for
the transmission of Jesus' words, and indirectly a prophet in
that Matthew is spreading Jesus' (and thus God's) words,
simply because Jesus did not write. Matthew himself has no
value because he is human, and thus cannot have anything
worthwhile to say from himself.
Jesus' teachings were considered to be so valuable by
those that followed him that it was supposed that there was
no way that he could possibly be human. Jesus at once became
a prophet, his words coming to him from God, and later he
became the son of God, and even later it was postulated that
he was one with God, not human at all, except in appearance.
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, humanity is incabable of
creation.
Furthermore, the denial of human knowledge leads to the
non-Christian Judaic dogma that, since Jesus was human, his
claim to certain knowledge is heresy and sinful. This
corresponds to the Genesis fable of the temptation of
humanity to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
God punished humanity for having pursued knowledge, and
possession of knowledge was so established as sin.
The attitudes toward knowledge, intelligence and
inventiveness displayed in Oedipus Rex greatly contrast the
Judeo-Christian beliefs, although there is some similarity
regarding the transmission of knowledge. Oracles and
prophets receive knowledge for human use from Apollo, and
this knowledge is of immediate and worldly use to the people
of Thebes (although it is not of much worldly gain to
Oedipus.) Knowledge is also portrayed as something that can
be humanly possessed, utilized and created. Oedipus is
referred to as having solved the riddle of the Sphinx by
using his own wits. Oedipus is admired for his intelligence,
and gains the worldly benefits of a kingdom for his
inventiveness. Oedipus Rex displays a wider spectrum of
origination of knowledge than The Gospel According to Saint
Matthew does.
Various viewpoints come up in the narrative of Oedipus
Rex leading the reader along in a quest for the outcome.
Oedipus rejects the truth many times vehemently and
believably (even though we are required to forget that we
already know the ending thanks to Freud saturating our
society with Oedipus.) It has been established to the reader
that Oedipus is noble and well intentioned so we follow him
along all trails of possibility until both the reader and
Oedipus glimmer, suspect and finally conclude the truth at
very close to the same time. This human pursuance of the
truth contrasts greatly the Judeo-Christian writings, in
which the reader is given the perception of truth blatantly
and continuously. There is no searching for knowledge in
The Gospel According to Saint Matthew , as Matthew has seen
the truth as it was revealed to him in his contact with
Jesus, and is in turn revealing the truth to us.
The closest The Gospel According to Saint Matthew
comes to an alternate viewpoint is Satan, tempting Jesus.
The narration of this temptation is couched by previous
identification of Satan as the adversary of God and is
certainly not given to us in any terms that make the reader
wonder if Satan might actually be righteous. It is ironic
that in Satan's temptation, he quotes from the book of
Psalms, but the verse is taken out of context and Jesus (whom
God Himself told the world He was pleased with only five
lines previously) quickly chases Satan away and goes about
being righteous.
The chorus in Oedipus Rex adds to the knowledge
transmitted to the audience in a fashion that almost
blatantly admits to the existance of the writer. Not only
does the chorus give us information about the occurances we
are being shown, it reminds us that we are not seeing the
actual incident, but a reenactment that has been embellished
upon by Sophocles. Sophocles, through the chorus, adds his
opinions and his messages about life, so that we may
understand more clearly the messages of the play.
Additionally, Sophocles is effectively telling us that he
wrote the play. This play and everything that we admire
about it is of human creation. Greek society could not have
had the same attitudes about human knowledge and creativity
that the Judaic culture did. Humans in ancient Greece were
allowed and thought capable of creation to a far greater
extent than humans in the culture that brought forth Jesus
and Matthew.
The quest for knowledge is something that is ingrained
quite possibly permanantly into our culture. Knowledge, on
some level, is something that is required for survival in
this world. Many cultures other than our own, both past and
present, share that need for knowledge, and many pursue it in
ways similar to ours'. Both of the ancient Greek and Judaic
cultures pursued knowledge in ways at least somewhat foriegn
to the modern western culture's methods. This is strange
because our culture is based so strongly on these two
cultures. Good or bad, we have evolved beyond our parent
cultures into a way of going about life that differs
substantially from our past.
|
|
|
To the best of our knowledge, the text on this page may be freely reproduced and distributed.
If you have any questions about this, please check out our Copyright Policy.
totse.com certificate signatures
|
|
|
About | Advertise | Bad Ideas | Community | Contact Us | Copyright Policy | Drugs | Ego | Erotica
FAQ | Fringe | Link to totse.com | Search | Society | Submissions | Technology
|
|
|
|
|
|
