Ethical Issues and Social Responsibility
FOR FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE ESSAY SCROLL DOWN
Reflection
The essay that you will read after this reflection is my critical essay on Robert shattuck and Forbidden knowledge. What I was trying to achieve with this essay was to show that I understood the book and that I had a very good idea on the matter of forbidden knowledge, both on how Shattuck sees it and on how I see it. I also wanted to write it so that I could further explore and contort my ideas on the subject. So what foal would my essay fit under?
This specific essay would fit under Ethical Issues and Social Responsibility because even though supposed to be reached by group collaboration and it was not, it was however made up of discussions and ideas based on our class, and so it is based on a learning community. The essay also deals with individuality. Robert Shattuck shows us his take on forbidden knowledge and its entirety as he sees it through the eyes of a culture, his culture. He expresses what his choices on the issue are and would be as a member of society. And because this goal deals with individuality it is reasonable to say that the topic and book of forbidden knowledge is an example on how it is possible to be an individual intellectual and not have the final say on things, there is always room for error. This is valuable because it demonstrates how an individual can impact a certain group, culture and a society in a valuable way and still have room for advancement. Would I change anything on my essay?
Well there is always one thing that I would change in almost all of my writings and that is it length. I know that there is a limit, and it helps to get to the point, but if I could I would go further into the world of forbidden knowledge and share my thoughts on it as a whole. If there were no restrictions I would just sit and write down all of my ideas and explore them plus argue, defend, counteract, support and alienate them just personally. I think that that would be a good assignment, just pure expressive writing. No bars n no holds. None of that MLA stuff or citations or anything formal. For me that would help understand things better but I understand the need for some limits. And by all means I am not complaining. I love that there are things that we must do in order to become more professional and mature in the way we communicate in the world. If there were no limits, than how would we stop chaos from happening? So who is all this writing aimed at.
It is aimed at all people but because it is a sort of review and summary of the topic of forbidden knowledge. Anyone could gain form the essay. It might introduce new people to the subject or reinforce feelings and ideas about it. I suppose that there are a few people who would be interested in this type of topic more than others. So in a way this is maybe aimed a t them more particularly. So what does this essay connect to in the class/
I see a connection between the book and all of the class readings. Not necessarily through forbidden knowledge, but through human experience. I am learning more and more about people and the individual self through the topic of forbidden knowledge. The forbidden knowledge is not truly the problem, it is the people or individuals who try to control it or attain it.
Orlando Heredia
Philip Jenks
UNST 121B
4 November 2003
Forbidden Knowledge
When we think of knowledge we may easily overlook the fact that there is more than just one kind. However there are people in this world who make it their job to define and document just that, the variety and complexity of knowledge. Roger Shattuck is one of those people. In his book, Forbidden Knowledge, Shattuck has isolated one type and has developed his own philosophy and understanding on the matter. Shattuck has probed deep and hard into the unforgiving realm of forbidden knowledge. But one question remains in my mind. Has Shattuck helped to understand the history and nature of forbidden knowledge including curiosity? In order to decide we ourselves must venture into that realm.
In the first five chapters of his book, shattuck explores forbidden knowledge in the form, of stories, legends and myths. In section II he gives us modern examples of knowledge that is very controversial and therefore might be considered forbidden.
One of the first "myths" that shattuck presents to us is Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. In order to link these very important figures to forbidden knowledge he used quotes from the book of Genesis and then connected them into his theme. But I noticed that shattuck failed to mention, or didn’t recognize a very powerful fact about the Garden of Eden and the tree of knowledge.
"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:16).
Shattuck failed to recognize that this very quote is the foundation of his whole study. When we read the preceding quote we immediately know that the consumption of the tree of knowledge was not allowed, and therefore it was forbidden. That signifies that the tree of knowledge was the first true and pristine form of forbidden knowledge in human history. With this we enter yet another branch of knowledge. Knowledge prohibited by divine, religious, moral, or secular authority (Shattuck 329).
Soon after God's stern warning, Eve tasted the fruit of the forbidden tree. Her actions are blamed on the persuasions of the serpent. But I believe there was another force at work within Eve. "Thou shalt not surely die" (3:4) The serpent tells the woman that, rather, the act will open their eyes and make them as gods. The serpent claims that by eating the forbidden fruit, they will achieve divinity without losing their immortality. The woman eats and gives of the fruit to her husband" (Shattuck 51). Curiosity was that force. But what is curiosity and how, if at all, does it relate to forbidden knowledge? Roger Shattuck defines curiosity as, "the desire to know more than is necessary for our immediately foreseeable needs" (45). Eve was not persuaded by the serpent alone, but also by her curiosity. Curiosity is eternally linked to forbidden knowledge and yet Shattuck alludes to mention it in the Adam and Eve story. The history of curiosity began right along with forbidden knowledge.
A second different, yet very similar myth that Shattuck writes about is the Prometheus and Pandora's Box myth. This myth comes to us from the Greeks. Prometheus was "a demigod who stole fire from Zeus to in order to save men (still without women) from extinction" (Shattuck 14). "Stung now in the depth of his being Zeus bound Prometheus to a rock, with an attendant vulture to eat out his liver" (14). But just punishing Prometheus did not satisfy Zeus, he wanted to smite Prometheus' beneficiaries as well, he wanted to harm mankind. "In relation to Prometheus' insubordination, Zeus sent Pandora, the first woman. She, too, was a gift, not stolen, but made for Prometheus' gullible brother, Epimetheus. By falling victim to her charms, Epimetheus brought into our midst the female whose name means "giver of all" or "gift of all" (Shattuck 14-15). Her name means just that because along with her charm she brought a mysterious box. Pandora was ordered not to open that box. But as because curiosity is all too true she could not obey her orders. "What Pandora gave us, when she removed the lid of the…box the gods sent with her, is grief, cares, and all evil. Her curiosity about the contents of the box matches Epimetheus' curiosity about a new companion, a modest maiden "with the mind of a bitch" (Hesoid). The dire effects of her gifts cancel out the benefits bestowed by Prometheus' defiance of the gods" (14-15).
In a very noticeable way Pandora is the literary reincarnation of Eve and the box of the forbidden fruit. If this is true for the Prometheus myth and the story of Adam and eve, than are there not more stories that share and connect the same symbolism and moral content?
Shattuck does a great job of answering that question. He gives us many case histories that show a repeating pattern of actions and consequences, which show the fragility of man's ability to deal with "forbidden knowledge".
In chapter IV section II, Shattuck introduces the topic of science and technology. These two subjects fall into the category Dangerous, Destructive, or Unwelcome knowledge (330). In this chapter he goes into depth about two very significant historical landmarks, the atomic bomb and the Human Genome Project.
One of the most important figures in the development of the atomic bomb (the Manhattan Project) was j. Robert Oppenheimer. "J. Robert Oppenheimer was a respected theoretical physicist, an organizer-director who earned the loyalty of hundreds of scientist, technicians, and military personnel…" (Shattuck 174). The decision to build the atom bomb was one that would haunt Oppenheimer for the rest of his days. "Their work would…unleash a force so destructive that only fears that the enemy might discover it first justified the effort" (Shattuck 174). "When the first test bomb exploded at Alamogordo, New Mexico, Oppenheimer had chosen and learned lines so appropriate to his part…from the Bhagavad-Gita" (Shattuck 174). "If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst in the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one" (Shattuck 174). With this only statement Oppenheimer shows his understanding of the consequences that will follow because of his actions."…in our minds, we have projected upon Oppenheimer the responsibility to answer two questions: "shall we manufacture the bomb? Shall we employ the bomb?" Oppenheimer became both hero and scapegoat for having answered the two questions in the affirmative" (Shattuck 174). But Oppenheimer became more than just that. He became yet another symbolic representation of Eve and her curiosity. In this scenario all of humanity has been transformed into a symbolic Adam. An Adam that Eve has tempted and condemned with the forbidden fruit. "In some sort of crude sense which no vulgarity, no humor, no overstatement can quite extinguish, the physicist have known sin; and this is a knowledge they cannot lose" (Shattuck 176).
The Human Genome Project is the result of four decades of DNA research. The main objective of the HGP is based on the desire of, "cracking the code of life, reading the human blueprint, and filling in the map of human nature" (shattuck 177). As shattuck explains, this project has provoked severe criticism. "The promised medical rewards to individuals in terms of therapy remain uncertain, partially because concentration on mapping and sequencing does not solve the challenge of gene replacement when an undesirable gene is found" (177). The HGP becomes the tree of knowledge and Pandora's box all at once. But if in our desire to unlock the secrets of human nature we take no cautionary steps we might be ending up with a Pandora's box in our hands. A box that may hold things that we might not desire to know or to experience. In a way we might also be extending our hand into the forbidden tree of knowledge. If that hand manages to grab the fruit within, than will we anger the divine power that planted that tree? Those are things that we cannot know as of now. Than why then are scientists going forward with their plans without any idea of the path that lies ahead?
Shattuck's last myth is that of The Sphinx. According to legend, the sphinx was a, "monster with the body of a griffin, the wings of a bird, and the face of…a virgin" (Shattuck 323). The sphinx spoke riddles to unsuspecting travelers. If the travelers could not answer the riddle, "she cruelly tore them to pieces" (shattuck 343).
Although the sphinx story is an old one, it may yet have a very powerful cautionary purpose to modern times. If you look at the sphinx as the symbolic appearance of science it makes perfect sense. "The sphinx exists and represents the menacing side of science" (shattuck 179). According to Shattuck, "science is potentially dangerous monster that both occupies the lofty places of knowledge and "infests the roads" to challenge mortals…" (324). A great pint is made when we read the following quote. "Though they form an unnatural combination of parts, the dreaming human head cannot be separated from the lion's menacing body" (shattuck 179). This suggest that we cannot escape science, but if we cannot escape it than what shall we do? "If the sphinx represents science in its most dangerously alluring form, then we must find the courage to resist her riddling challenges, to tame her, rather than to be devoured by her" (Shattuck 324).
After reading shattuck and thinking about his literary work and message I have concluded that he does do a good job of helping understand forbidden knowledge and its connection with curiosity. However I have found a flaw with his writing. It does not include any literature of any other civilization besides western civilization on the subject. In other words I have found that Shattuck is Eurocentric. "After cohabiting with many years with the corpus of western literature, I sometimes wonder if it all could be reduced to a few simple stories" (Shattuck 77). In the end of it all I have derived two more questions from my experience with shattuck's Forbidden Knowledge. That is a good sign that it was a job well done. Here they are. Can forbidden knowledge exist without curiosity? If there is no desire to know more than the necessary, then does forbidden knowledge cease to exist?