But knowledge is indeed power, and reputation for knowledge gives authority and the right to act and direct others, individually or through policy. It is of the nature of human knowledge and practice, in whatever field, to grow transgenerationally and to deposit its gains in various ways that make accessible to any subsequent generation the learnings of the past. This applies to all areas of knowledge, but especially to the area of practical wisdom: How to live? That is where the Bible comes in. What they can do by accessing the knowledge and practice already acquired, and available in various forms in their social world, is very great, and a potential source of much good that is otherwise impossible. The university is a ‘standing source.’ What individuals could do on their own, starting from nothing, in the area of mathematics or anthropology, for example, would amount to very little. But the standing sources of knowledge and wisdom available in and through our social world are indispensable to the individual as well as to groups. Each one may contribute to the solution, and none can be totally passive. And that is not a problem that can be solved by each individual on his own. But whatever world we come into, the human problem is to find in knowledge a solid basis for action. That will largely depend upon what is given to us from the world we come into and what we are prepared to do now. will be available to us in future situations where we must act. We may have some choice about what ideas, beliefs, impulses, etc. The human being stands in his or her world condemned to act, and to act on the basis of whatever ideas, images, beliefs, impulses, desires and emotions they may have in the moment of action.
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