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The Means Of Knowledge And Cultural Biases
What is the nature of the intellect? What is the operation of real intelligence? What is the proper role of reason? What should we look for in terms of authority for determining real knowledge, whether in the fields of science, history or spirituality? What are the principles and methodologies that can lead us to a direct perception of truth? Certainly all thinkers, East and West, must grapple with these ideas before coming to conclusions about anything.
Unless we first know our means of knowledge - unless we understand the instrumentality with which we seek to know - how can we be certain of anything that we claim to discover? Therefore, the inquiry into the means of knowledge must precede any inquiry into the objects to be known. However, today we have taken for granted that our present cultural means of knowledge as defined by science, technology and the media is accurate, unbiased, comprehensive and capable of yielding the truth - which to a deeper vision is certainly not the case.
Different civilizations possess different ideas about the nature of the intellect and the role of reason. What is rational according to one culture may be irrational or biased according to another. Even western civilization, though largely based on the scientific intellect, still has a place for faith and some scientists still argue in favor of Biblical miracles.
Indic civilization has a long tradition of deep philosophical thinking, in which the role of the intellect is an important topic. Books on Indian philosophies generally begin with an examination of the appropriate means of knowledge (pramanas), as well as whether the student is well enough equipped with it in order to find the truth (adhikaras). These different means of knowledge include not only sensory perception and inference, as in the West, but also higher states of consciousness (Samadhi), not part of western intellectual methods of knowledge. The student’s equipment to truly learn includes spiritual practices and ethical disciplines, not just intellectual training.
Author - David Frawley
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