"I have needed a long time, and that time is not yet up, to learn this, O Govinda: that no one can learn a thing! I believe firmly that in reality the thing we call 'learning' does not exist. O my friend, all there is is a knowledge, which is everywhere, which is Atman, which is in me and in you and in every being. And so I am beginning to believe that this knowledge has no worse enemy than the desire to know, than learning" (pg 11).
Can learning really be the enemy of knowledge? What IS knowledge? What IS learning? Why is this an ironic thing for Siddhartha to say? Consider his past lifestyle, current lifestyle, and future plans.
Learning could actually be the enemy of knowledge because it is one thing to say you learned something but it is another to show you can apply what you learned. Being able to apply or show what you learned shows your knowledge you have obtained from what you learned. Knowledge can be defined as the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning, while learning can be defined as process of acquiring skill or knowledge so that shows you, you must learn before you can obtain knowledge. This is an ironic thing for Siddhartha to say because he has always followed in his father's shadow and now desired to follow the samanas. He knew nothing about the samanas and he had to learn how to exercise quickly and hold his breath so this statement is ironic because Siddhartha has actually learned from the Samanas and obtained knowledge.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion learning cannot be the enemy of knowledge because when you go through lifes ups and down you learn what is right & wrong which builds up knowledge.There is no way you can have knowledge without learning i just dont understand.Knowledge is expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education while learning is acquiring new knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information.For Siddhartha to say this is very weird & confusing. So if he beleives in what he says then why does he go to the Samanas & do all of the crazy things.Therefore he left his dad to learn what the Samanas was doing & now Siddartha got the knowledge.
ReplyDeleteGood job once again Kila even if we disagree & i think learning & knowledge is best friends.
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ReplyDeleteShaquellia,
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot to digest in this comment. Before we can explore your points further, will you break them down for me? Tell me this, what is your ultimate point? What is your position? You say that learning can be the enemy to knowledge. Tell me why, exactly, and prove it with supporting details. You can even do this in an outline, if you want. Be convincing on this point, and then tie it back into Siddhartha. :)
Tom,
ReplyDeleteYou clearly have a strong opinion about this topic! You write passionately and you formed a good argument. You're right to point out that it is weird for Siddhartha to say these things about learning while he has chosen to learn from the Samanas. And, doesn't he then leave the Samanas to go learn from Gotama?
What's going on here? Do you think there IS a bad type of learning? What type of learning might PROHIBIT growth and knowledge? Have you ever had to "unlearn" something so you could improve what you are trying to accomplish? What do you think, Tom?
Can learning really be the enemy of knowledge? What IS knowledge? What IS learning? Why is this an ironic thing for Siddhartha to say? Consider his past lifestyle, current lifestyle, and future plans.
ReplyDeleteI don't think learning can really be the enemy of knowledge because learning is how you gain more knowledge. The only way I could possibly see learning being the enemy of knowledge is if you learned something and wish you had never learned it. For instance, I know that chicken is processed, but if I were to learn what really happens through processing I might look at chicken differently.Knowledge, to me, is information that you have already retained. Learning is what you do to aquire more knowledge. I think it's ironic for Siddhartha to say that because he spent most of his life gaining knowledge from his father and now he's also learning from the Samanas.
et.tu.Magistra,
ReplyDeleteMy ultimate point is that you must first learn before you can say you have obtained knowledge. Without learning first there is really no knowledge. You have had to learn everything you know. You might have learned on your own or with help, you might have caught on fast, or slowly, but you have still had to learn. My position is that learning can be the enemy of knowledge because you can learn something but not have a full knowledge of it. For example, you can learn that animals we eat are killed first and then cleaned for us, but you could not have a full knowledge of how they are killed for us to eat. You would have to learn in order to have the knowledge of what really goes on. This could be an example of learning being the enemy of knowledge because for an animal lover, like yourself, without knowing what really goes on you would probably still be eating meat if your weren't aware of what they do go through. Now I relate to this to Siddhartha by saying, Siddhartha picked up the way Samanas lived quickly but he didn't come there already knowing the techniques they practiced. He had to learn them and then used the knowledge of what he learned to apply the techniques. Learning the techniques and not knowing when or how to apply them would've been how learning could've been an enemy of knowledge.
Can learning really be the worst enemy of Knowledge? What is knowledge? What is learning? In my opinion learning can not be the worst enemy of knowledge because of the fact that in order for knowledge to be presetin the mind one must learn. Knowledge is the key to success and learning is the key to knowledge.This statement is ironic because in Siddartha's past life, he would have dealt with the pain, the hunger, the thirst, the cold, and anything else he would have went through. He gain the knowledge that kept him from dealing with it by learning from the samanas. Then on another note to him, learning may be knowledge worst enemy because knowledge desires learning an Siddartha does not wish to desire.
ReplyDeleteet.tu.magistra
ReplyDeleteI think that Siddartha is just experimenting here. To me he's not confuse i believe he know what hes doing he's just trying to try something new.To me there is no such thing as bad learning.Even if you do learn something bad that dont mean that you have to do it. To me bad learning is nothing but good learning but people use it the wrong way.To me I dont think at any learning can stop your growth or knowledge.Ok, if you learn something bad you can make that your lesson then you grow knowledge in that thing now you know better to do it.No, I have never unlearnn something.Ms. Lucchesi how can you unlearn something one you learn something it's there you just choose if you want to use it or not.This is what i think.