Guided Missiles, Misguided Men: When Knowledge Outruns the Soul
A civilization drowning in knowledge but starving for wisdom does not need more cleverness. It needs more art.
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We have another post today by Eugene Terekhin, the man and the mind behind the publication Philosophy of Language.
Eugene is a regular contributing writer to The FASO Way.
This article will be locked in two days for paying members only.
Feature Article:
Guided Missiles, Misguided Men: When Knowledge Outruns the Soul
In the Soviet film Silence of Doctor Evans (1974), the protagonist – a doctor – is saved by aliens from a distant planet after a plane crash. They are benevolent, highly intelligent, and possess extraordinary knowledge and abilities that allow them to live as long as they wish.
Doctor Evans asks: “Can you share your secret with us? You can’t imagine how many people on earth would be eternally grateful.”
The woman replies: “There are some secrets humans cannot touch until they reach a certain level of moral maturity. Do you think your civilization has matured enough to handle any secret of the universe?”
Evans is stunned and, after a pause, answers honestly: “No.”
Our civilization tends to treat knowledge as an unquestioned good. And it is good –
but not without questions. It is only good when the one possessing it is morally ready. When knowledge ends up in immature hands, it turns to its opposite – ignorance.
We don’t teach three-year-olds to light matches. It’s a kind of knowledge they are not yet ready for. The fact that we keep matches away from them doesn’t mean that knowledge is bad, or that they are bad – only that the timing is bad.
In the Book of Enoch, the fallen angels, the Watchers, descend on earth to teach humans forbidden arts. Many of those arts appear innocent – like mirrors or metallurgy, for example. Their devilish plan is to teach humans those arts prematurely.
When knowledge is given to those who are not ready for it, it becomes a temptation.
God did not forbid Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because knowledge was inherently bad, or because He was withholding something from them, but because they were not yet ready for it.
He knew that, if they grasped it prematurely, they would be led astray. That is exactly what happened – and what continues to happen to this day. In immature hands, knowledge turns into ignorance and leads to self-destruction.
As Martin Luther King Jr. said:
“Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.”
Humans are sorely tempted by knowledge because we believe it will help us become like gods. We imagine we can build a tower to the heavens and ascend on our own – that we can become immortal and all-powerful. Yet every human attempt to storm heaven ends in ruins.
Knowledge is a paradox: when we grasp at it, it turns into its opposite – ignorance. When we receive it as a gift, it becomes a blessing.
The mark of moral maturity is the ability to wait for knowledge to be revealed in good time. True knowledge comes of itself to those who do not grasp for it. It is the fruit of relationship.
True knowledge never comes by seizing. Just as my knowledge of my wife and children is revealed to me within our relationship, so our knowledge of the world unfolds as we encounter its wonders.
As Rumi said, “Sell cleverness and buy bewilderment.”
When we seize knowledge, we reap self-destruction. When we are bewildered enough to wait for its revelation, we live in wonder and joy.
PS — Editors note — Eugene’s essay illustrates why art matters so much in an age obsessed with information. Art does not merely give us data, techniques, or utility. Great art restores wonder. It slows the grasping mind long enough for us to actually encounter the truth of reality again. A civilization drowning in knowledge but starving for wisdom does not primarily need more cleverness. It needs deeper seeing. It needs art.
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