Nearly all the wisdom we posses, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.
— John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.
— J.R.R. Tolkien — The Hobbit
Call me Ishmael.
— Herman Melville — Moby Dick
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
— The Bible
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
— Jane Austin — Pride and Prejudice
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.
— Douglas Adams — The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Failing to think of a suitable introduction to my first post on my first blog, I have sampled from literature. Which brings us to the subject of the post. Knowledge is primarily personal. What we know about others comes from revelation of them, either by themselves or one who knows them (though this not always by the intent of the revealer). On the internet, this is even more so, as people adopt personae which correspond to their real-world presence to varying degrees.
Likewise, God (who cannot unintentionally reveal himself) can only be known by his revelation. In creation (an unnecessary act) he revealed himself. But we are no longer in communion with God or nature; how do we know we see God rightly in creation?How can we trust our senses and reasoning? Are we akin to bleary-eyed men who if a beautiful book were cast in front of us could not read even two words? Where do we get glasses to see, &c.?
More anon, I have to interact with the real world.

6 comments
Comments feed for this article
Friday, 16 November 2007 at 12:27:06 pm
Elizabeth
You forgot the best beginning to any novel. It was the best of times….
Friday, 16 November 2007 at 4:23:53 pm
cthall
Yes, how could I? I even had it on my mind as I was compiling those openings.
Saturday, 17 November 2007 at 11:01:02 am
Adam
Re epistomology, I am reading through a book by a Hungarian chemist and philosopher of science named Michael Polanyi. It’s called Personal Knowledge. It’s a bit dense, but almost all of the examples are from the hard sciences, so right up your alley. Worth checking out. It’s the only epistemological system I’ve read that approaches how we actually live.
Saturday, 17 November 2007 at 11:05:59 am
cthall
Yes, I have asked for the book for Nativity Day, so if part 2 (or 3) follows, I’ll be sure to reference it. I think Steve recommended his work to me a few years back.
Monday, 19 November 2007 at 12:36:57 pm
Adam
No kidding? I guess he is more widely read than I thought. Steve who?
Friday, 14 November 2008 at 8:54:10 pm
A Journey around the Sun « Literary Ales
[...] C T Hall Today is this blog’s anniversary. While I have not yet posted part two of “Revelation and Epistemology“, I have obtained Michael Poylani’s book, Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical [...]