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MartaPanellaFirstEssay 4 - 10 Jan 2022 - Main.MartaPanella
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< | The pursuit of knowledge | >
> | The pursuit of knowledge | | | By MartaPanella - 9 January 2022 | |
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< | Introduction | >
> | Introduction | | | "You were not made to live like brutes, but to pursue virtue and knowledge". In Dante Alighieri's Divina Commedia, these words are attributed to Ulysses, one of the first men to travel across the Pillars of Hercules, stepping into the unknown. Dante believed that the pursuit of knowledge is the very reason of human's existence, reaffirming the theory already expressed by Aristotle, that humans naturally aspire to knowledge.
In this paper, I will try to expand on this idea that there is an élan in all human beings towards the amelioration of ourselves and the world surrounding us, analysing its impact on the theory that innovation is driven, mainly, by the desire for profit. | |
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< | Knowledge and profit | >
> | Knowledge and profit | | | Over the centuries, knowledge - and its more evanescent declination as "culture" - has often been a privilege of élite classes and of people who benefited from the hospitality or protection of rich patrons, particularly until authors, artists and scientists started to get paid for their work. | | | Nowadays, the push towards innovation is often associated to the pursuit of profit more than knowledge itself; however, it is interesting to observe the results of recent studies, which have found that users' generated content is becoming increasingly relevant in many sectors as a force driving innovation (E. Von Hippel, "People don’t need a profit motive to innovate", Harvard Business Review, 2011). Individuals have showed increasing creativity within their own areas of interest: their push towards innovation is not driven by the promise of future profits, but it mainly responds to their interests and utilities. They often acquire the knowledge necessary simply because they are passioned about the subject area, with results that might be beneficial for society as a whole. | |
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< | The quality of knowledge: the acquisition costs | >
> | The quality of knowledge: the acquisition costs | | | Given the relevance of specialized abilities' role in today's production mechanisms, an analysis of the costs necessary to acquire these tools is essential to assess whether people actually have the practical opportunity (and not only a natural tendency) to innovate.
| | | Therefore, we might argue that even assuming that there is an inside push towards innovation in human beings, the possibility to invent still depends on the quality and cost of accurate information on the specific sector taken into consideration. | |
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< | Conclusion | >
> | Conclusion | | | The digital revolution constitutes one of the biggest equalitarian tools that were ever available to humankind. However, the knowledge people could have access through it is often affected by lack of privileges in terms of internet access, verification mechanisms and awareness of options granting users' privacy (or access to them). | |
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< | Studies have noted that human innate thirst for knowledge and amelioration is already independent from the aspiration to profit in certain sectors. Psychologists call it need for cognition and epistemic curiosity, traits characterizing human beings and defining their personalities, inner attributes that often don't need external motivators. | >
> | Studies have noted that human innate thirst for knowledge and amelioration is already independent from the aspiration to profit in certain sectors. Psychologists call it need for cognition and epistemic curiosity, traits characterizing human beings and defining their personalities, inner attributes that often don't need external motivators. | | | If this tendency were allowed to scale, by reducing the costs of information gathering not only on practical questions but also with regard to "theoretical" knowledge, we might be able to fully benefit from a collective effort. |
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