Do you believe that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing?

Question

What if someone possessed too much knowledge? if knowledge is power and power corrupts, how will humankind ever survive?

Answer 1

If the wrong information makes it into the wrong minds we are all screwed. I think that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
I think it is a matter of using the knowlege we have to make the right or best choices (not that we always do).

Answer 2

A little knowledge is always a dangerous thing. I've seen evidence again and again. Generally this is because those with little knowledge are unaware their knowledge is small. A garden hose wielded in the face of a forest fire with certainty that such will win the day is a dangerous implement. Try it sometime and see if this is not true. lol

Knowledge is power, this is true, but power only corrupts the unenlightened or those with little knowledge. Humankind may or may not survive, and this is true. Of what import is that set against the scale of an entire universe? If an individual survives for a time and is happy to the last instant before annihilation, then that individual's purpose is served, as is that of the universe.

Happiness cannot be achieved with too little knowledge.

Answer 3

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing because you lull yourself into thinking you know what you're doing and the knowledge you don't have is irrelevant because there hasn't been a problem yet.

If you possess too much knowledge you can get paralyzed and unable to make a decision.

Knowledge is power in itself for decision making, but that skill, consistently exercised, gives you power over other people --and THAT situation (power over others) is what does the corrupting.

How will humankind ever survive? People with partial knowledge will fight, somtimes go to war with each other, and those struggles have a name, "progress."

Another reason humankind will survive is that Plato and Descartes were wrong -- you don't have to wait until you have absolute knowledge to make a decision by syllogism. It is possible to make wise decisions on incomplete information through the rules of rhetoric by reasoning through logical argumentation.

Answer 4

The quotes that declare "knowledge is power" and "power corrupts" are exclusive and get linked in only rare isolated examples.
Knowledge empowers a person to handle a situation.
When we say "Power corrupts" it is not just the power of knowledge that we are talking about.... mostly it is the power of trust that vast majority of people place in a person (the politicians) or the power vested in an individual by a great person, institution , etc out of trust in that person, that could corrupt out of ego problems (usually this corruption happens when there an error of judgement in deciding the 'deserve' factor of the person so trusted !)
Little knowledge obviously is dangerous because it is like proceeding to cut open a person to be operated upon without complete set of tools !

Answer 5

You said it, we won't. Like any species we're meant to be extinct one day in the future this being from our own acts or something else. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing because knowing one thing sparks questions about something else, and so on, creating a vicious chain with no end. As it can be seen with our race we haven't reached that point where our curiosity just stopped growing, but contrary it's at a record high. This is seen with technology all over the world, as well as in science with gene splicing, cloning, stem cell research etc... Life is a puzzle to be completed and until we feel that it is completed we will never stop asking questions and obtaining answers. To some extent this is good since the more we know the better chances we have of knowing what to do in case of emergencies, but sometimes like the old saying says "ignorance is bliss", sometimes the less you know the less trouble you get into. So which one should you listen to? I don't know, how do you see life? Is your curiosity stirred when you see something you can't explain, or do you simply turn your head to the next best thing? In the end it all comes down to us, to our objective selves, our primitive minds in the span of life in this universe.

Answer 6

It is not little knowledge that is dangerous in itself. What is dangerous is the belief as though that little knowledge is the entire knowledge.
Coming to your second part, once again, the super knowledge itself does not harm anyone. However, if that stops any further learning, it is detrimental, And it can be dangerous if one who has a lot of knowledge starts undermining others or using his knowledge for wrong purposes.

In short, knowledge itself is good, what is harmful is lack of wisdom and humility.

Answer 7

the q u have asked has two faces as each q has if knowledge corrupts everything than nothing would have left in this world is the one face but if knowledge would have not been there cud the world progress as such it is doin .and the left talk of little knowledge is dangerous than its always right as u can never ever perform any q with perfection than and each thing in world requires perfection

Answer 8

Don't aphor... here is a philosophy site and let's keep it
in state.
There are Social people and Antisocial people. If they don't keep
their Ethics in, little or much power will be used to destroy.
The more a person is in possession of knowledge, the more he
needs to have his ethics in. Knowledge doesn't kill. Outethicness
does. So, we need ethics to protect knowledge.

Ciao.......John-John.

Answer 9

This question begs a number of others. Knowledge itself empowers. It is neutral with respect to being dangerous. Human nature is to experiment and gain knowledge. The amount of danger we court is related to our tolerance of risk, not our amount of knowledge. Responsibility inhibits our endangering ourselves or others unreasonably. People who project their own irresponsibility on others tend to fear letting others have knowledge. But, the saying is useful at times even if only an echo of reality.

Answer 10

I agree to this question 99% but the remaining 1% is not agree. Because in some cases the 1% become equal to 100%. So we have to take at least 1% risk.