A person learns to think when he begins to join the universal culture, to the knowledge that society has accumulated throughout its existence. The main gift of society to the child is the mind. However, the abundance of experience may not always be useful, and this is confirmed by the famous phrase of the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus about "knowledge".
The problem of excessive experience
“Mnogoznanie not teach the mind,” - the first time this phrase was uttered by the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus. However, it has not lost its relevance in our time. After all, the task of society is to educate its worthy members, who in the future will be able to serve humanity. A child learns the world and develops primarily in the school walls. However, is an abundance of versatile knowledge always useful? Heraclitus has always condemned "knowledge", which may seem unusual for a philosopher. Why did he blame many of his contemporaries and what his concept of “Mnogoznanie does not teach the mind” means, will be discussed further.
The philosophical style of Heraclitus
Often, the philosopher’s thinking style is directly related to the fact that he came from a kind of ruling - this is where the source of his contempt for the crowd and democracy is supposedly located. However, Heraclitus himself did not select the "best" at all on the basis of wealth or power. He has always been on the side of those people who make a conscious choice in favor of knowledge and kindness. He openly condemned those who wanted to get as much wealth and material wealth as possible, saying that people “it is not good for them to fulfill their desires.”
The "best" people, the philosopher considered those who prefer to improve their souls, learn to reason and reflect, instead of accumulating earthly wealth. Reason was a virtue for Heraclitus. “Doubtfulness does not teach the mind,” the philosopher said, as if misleading his listeners. After all, if Heraclitus so valued the ability to think, why did he so forcefully fall upon an excessive amount of knowledge in man? It is not enough just to know to whom the saying “Doubtfulness does not teach the mind” belongs, it is also necessary to understand what Heraclitus wanted to say with these words. Let's try to figure it out.
What did the wise man from Ephesus think about the “wisdom of the crowd”
Heraclitus believed that each person can develop the ability to think in himself, even if he does not possess it from birth. The philosopher in his writings constantly attacks the "pernicious" use of his soul, which is given to man in order to perfect it. The sage from Ephesus believes that the crowd is formed by those people who do not want to part with ignorance and naivety, preferring the path of wisdom and work to these vices. Heraclitus says that there are very few smart people - most of the crowd never joins the highest wisdom.
Against those idols that the crowd believes, Heraclitus fights the most fiercely. “Mnogoznanie does not teach the mind” - this phrase was said primarily for the wise people known to the people. For example, such was the testimony of Clement of Alexandria: “Heraclitus says that the majority, or the imaginary ones, constantly follow the voice of the mob, singing its melodies. It does not know that many are bad and few are good. ” Another version of this saying of Heraclitus belongs to Proclus: “Are they in their mind? Are they in their right mind? They go crazy with village songs and choose their teachers, not realizing that many are bad and few are good. ”
Heraclitus severely accuses his fellow citizens with the expression "Mnogoznanie does not teach the mind." The meaning of the phrase is that the so-called "wisdom of the crowd" can never make a person really smart. Heraclitus condemns his compatriots, as they do not tolerate sages and worthy people. The sage from Ephesus writes about his fellow citizens: “They deserve to be outweighed without exception. After all, they expelled Hermodor himself, the best husband, because they did not want any of them to exceed the crowd. ”
The charges of Heraclitus against the ancient Greek poets
Heraclitus even applied his expression “knowledge to many people” to Pythagoras. He also did not consider him a sage. Not embarrassed in the expressions, the philosopher openly called him a “fraudster,” “the inventor of fraud.” In other words, the philosopher opposed the thought prevalent in the crowd, and at the same time against those cultural figures who were most popular in his time. Which of the Greeks did not honor Homer or Hesiod? Heraclitus believed that even sages can be mistaken, therefore it is not worth creating any cults.
The philosopher believed that Homer is a classic example of “multi-knowledge,” because he does not have wisdom in the strict sense of this concept, which arises simultaneously with philosophy. Homer has access only to "knowledge." The whole expression of Heraclitus reads as follows: “Doubtfulness would not teach the mind, otherwise Hesiod and Pythagoras would have taught, as well as Xenophanes and Hecateus.”
In another fragment of the works of Heraclitus, you can read: "Homer is worth being carved, and Archilochus (another ancient Greek epic poet) too." And here is how the philosopher speaks about Hesiod: “He is a teacher of the majority, but has no idea even about day and night!” What exactly did Hesiod not know? He did not know that “day and night is one,” that is, Heraclitus emphasized that he was not familiar with dialectics, and therefore could not rightfully deserve the name of a sage. Thus, the philosopher refuted the value of mythological and poetic thinking.
The attitude of Heraclitus to the gods
“Doubtfulness will not teach the mind” - the philosopher considered this expression to be true in relation to various religious cults and the “venerable” faith in them. Heraclitus demonstrates the atheistic position, which is embodied in many elements of his works. Those people who worshiped various gods, he considered not true sages, but "knowledgeable." Criticism of all kinds of superstitions is one of the main distinguishing features of the philosophy of Heraclitus. Religion, superstition, mythology and cults - all this, the sage condemned with his famous expression "knowledge will not teach the mind." And it cannot be said that the philosopher was wrong - after all, most Greeks of that time really worshiped one or the other gods. His criticism of his fellow citizens was not completely groundless.
Knowledge needs intelligence
However, the meaning of the statement “knowledge does not teach mind” in our time can be interpreted a little differently. Sometimes in this way they speak not only of the “wisdom of the crowd,” as Heraclitus did, but also of those situations where the abundance of his knowledge does not help, but interferes with. It is impossible to teach a person to think - he must develop this ability in himself. Acumen - this is the tool that helps to apply their knowledge at the right time. Wisdom is also not simply the sum of knowledge. This is an understanding of the main thing, which is sometimes called "long-term smartness."
Do I need to know a lot?
There is one more analogue of the proverb “knowledge does not teach mind.” These are the words spoken by the biblical prophet Ecclesiastes: "Many knowledge - many sorrows." From the very school bench, a person hears that without knowledge he will have a hard time in life, and the more he accumulates during his studies, the better for him. However, this is not quite true. A lot of knowledge does sometimes sometimes lead to rather sad consequences. Consider what they may be.
Prison of Past Experience
When a person has any knowledge, he begins to look at the world through the prism of this information - in other words, he becomes too biased. Often, knowledge completely replaces reality for him. Noticing any phenomenon in the world around him, he immediately recalls an analogue from the situations in his memory and looks no longer at the world around him (in which every second brings something new), but at his image from memory.
Unfortunately, so many are doing this, confirming the words "knowledge will not teach the mind." Before anything happens in the world, we immediately say that "everything is clear with this." So a person begins to live in an illusory world of past experience. With his own hands, he blocks his channel of communication with real, real life. Such people turn their lives into a real prison of prejudice, not remembering that "knowledge does not teach the mind." The meaning that they once grasped now extends to all subsequent situations, although in reality the reality may already be completely different.
Also, when a person has a huge amount of useless knowledge, then often simply there is no room for new things in him. He lives on past experiences that he could have received many years ago. In particular, this approach is characteristic of adults. The older a person becomes, the less he is surprised at the world around him. He ceases to notice the new, since all the phenomena occurring around him are immediately sorted by the brain into one or another category. Some scholars have suggested that this is why perception of time changes in adulthood. The older a person becomes, the more it seems to him that his life is “flying”. Every day a person processes less and less new information, he simply does not notice new around him.
Sometimes students in schools or universities receive a task: “Much knowledge does not teach the mind. Comment on the statement. " As an example, they can cite the fact that a person can be fenced off in the shell of existing experience from the real world, which will demonstrate stupidity. The older a person becomes, the less new details of the surrounding world he notices - and all the fault is the baggage of information that he pulls with him. For children, the world, by contrast, is the place where new secrets await them at every corner. They do not have this "knowledge" that obscures reality.
Attempts of the "knowledgeable" to protect themselves
It can also be said that when a person has too much knowledge, he begins to consider himself very smart or even talented. He loves and respects himself. However, sooner or later it turns out that, no matter how vast his experience, there are still new horizons. Indeed, at any moment in the world something can happen that will contradict all the information that he already owns. This can hurt him, and he will begin to try to defend his point of view, which will be very stupid - after all, such a dispute always indicates that a person ignores reality.
Thus, in this case, the expression “multiscognition does not teach the mind” will be confirmed. The author of this expression is already known to us, and his attitude towards the Ephesian society was also examined. Despite the fact that the phrase refers specifically to the stupidity of the crowd, the schoolchild or student can supplement his answer with his own thoughts and comments that he has about this expression.
Cramming is one of the types of "knowledge"
Now we know who said "Doubtfulness does not teach the mind" and what is the meaning of this phrase. The expression of Heraclitus, which has become winged, can be applied to some methods of education. For example, there are researchers who consider cramming the way that only intellectual harm is done to the mind and literally cripples thinking. This happens for the reason that in the process of cramming in the mind, something like rails for a train is built. If a child gets a nonsense idea that does not agree with his experience, then he can very quickly throw it out of his head. But if he had memorized something without understanding the meaning of this information, then with this knowledge he wouldn’t just say goodbye. It is hard to say whether it is so or not. But it can be safely asserted that mechanical memorization without understanding the meaning of information is that "knowledge" that is unlikely to benefit a person.
Is knowledge valuable without practice?
No less dangerous is the thoughtless accumulation of information without any further use in practice. That person who throughout his life is engaged in thoughtless accumulation of knowledge, but does not apply it in action, also shows stupidity. Indeed, experience itself is completely useless if it does not serve other people. For example, a person can be carried away all his life by such disciplines as anatomy and physiology, but at the same time work in a completely different field. In this case, his passion will not bring any benefit to society, even if he has good abilities for medicine.
The same person who is not only interested in these disciplines as a hobby, but also seeks to gain a profession in order to further realize his abilities and knowledge in practice, can be called reasonable and wise. That is why Heraclitus is right in his expression. If a person knows that his knowledge and talents could serve society, but does not seek to combine knowledge with practice, this is more than stupid. Those knowledge that is acquired without any connection with the main activity of a person is plunged by the brain to the very bottom of the unconscious. And therefore, to engage in their assimilation is nothing but a waste of time.
So, it’s not enough to know what the expression “Mnogoznanie does not teach the mind” means. It takes on a completely different meaning in a world where dangers, floods, illnesses and wars await at every corner of a person. Knowledge becomes an indispensable tool for solving purely practical problems. That is why they should always go side by side with practice, realized in the surrounding reality. Do not assume that solving problems is the goal of mathematics only. Indeed, the whole process of man’s cognition of the world is nothing more than a constant formulation of ever new tasks and problems. Anyone who sees in an abstract, theoretical formula a clear answer to a practical question that worries him will never forget this formula - which means that it will not belong to unnecessary "knowledge". Even if he forgets her, the real world will again force him to bring her out. This is real wisdom.