On page 143 Sophie quotes Anne: "Wisdom: true knowing. Anne said wisdom begins when you discover the difference between " that does not make sense" and "I do not understand.""However, it is easy to say you know the distinction and that you have the wisdom, for the consequences of otherwise are not desirable. A good example for this might be the old Danish fairytale The Emperor's New Clothes, where emperor's new clothes are claimed to be invisible to those who were unfit for their offices, by the tailors. Afraid of getting kicked out of their office, everyone claims to see emperor's new clothes. Everyone claimed to have truly seen, what was actually non existent. A collective delusion, if you will...where is wisdom in that? From Anne's point of view, our responses in the previous class activity makes a lot of sense. However, how does one know where s/he's standing in the "that does not make sense" and "I do not understand" continuum? Then there is the Schrödinger's Cat Experiment of knowing...which is also referenced in Rusell's book.
On page 213, Frans explains Nico the Schrodinger's Cat Experiment (*) to explain his hypothesis on God. Frans explains that man can the the cat in the box, and if the man (cat) believes that there is a God (man) outside of the box, then there is one. If the man is an atheist, then there is no God outside the box. Sticking with the same example, the only way of knowing is by opening the box, to see if the cat is still alive. Until then, the cat is considered in a superstate in which it's both dead and alive. For cat, existence of man outside the box is indifferent. Likewise, for the man, actual condition of cat is indifferent until the box is opened. Applying this notion to God is problematic simply because we do not know if God put us in the box in the first place. Perhaps it is the other way around...maybe cat is the God which we trapped in a box somewhere.
Leaving all religious implications aside and merely looking at the overall Schrodinger's Cat experiment, it is obvious that we can assume that until the time comes, there is no way of knowing. So maybe wisdom and true knowledge is achieved in retrospect- when Ender's killed all the Buggers, when Emilio is raped out f his mind and when we come to accept slavery as inhumane after years of colonization and slave trade. So, is knowledge time-oriented or time-based? Schrodinger would say yes, for after 1 hour we have the ultimate answer to our question by opening the box.
I hope we can discuss this in class.
* Here is more info on the experiment. In case you prefer Sheldon's explanation:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I too was intrigued by the inclusion of some quantum physics in the novel. I found Frans's explanation of Shrodingers Cat more confusing than usual. I'm going to try and flesh out my own model in the blog post I'm about to do (substantive 11), and I would definitely like to know what you think. I think you're on to something in putting god in the box.
ReplyDeleteI guess Frans is kind of missing the point too. I'll definitely comment on your post for I found this approach very bothering as well.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like this passage. I never understood why his example is relevant to God. The question in the example is not whether the person outside the box is there, but whether the cat is. Though the idea of God putting us in a box and giving us the example of life and death or good and bad is an interesting one.
ReplyDeleteI also love the response Nico has to how would you know whether the cat is alive or dead "You could listen to hear if it's purring." While this might not have been Russel's point, I read that and thought that there are always signs or evidence that point to our answers, we just have to stop and look (or listen) for them. Knowledge is found through these signs. Many also see that God has signs as well. I would agree knowledge is time based in that we have to find the evidence/signs, and the more time we have the more of this evidence is found.