THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE ESSAY

Title 1: “Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could

be and asked why not” (Pablo Picasso). Explore this distinction with

reference to two areas of knowledge.

Word Count: 1523

Personal Code: hwq055

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Humans have ventured beyond the orbits of preexisting consensuses as an act of compulsion

towards their itch to extract the unforeseen. The question Pablo Picasso asks, was inquired

from the point of view of a painter, a sculptor, a poet; as someone who reflects the thoughts

inside his mind onto the tangible realm by physical means. The former half of Picasso’s

assertion, “Others have seen and asked why,” transmits the notion of conventional means of

acquiring knowledge, and the retaliation of their knowledge. Knowledge is an abstract entity

omnipresent within the minds of beings, which is then made tactile by the beings themselves,

i.e. in the form of art, publications, inventions, discoveries, so on and so forth. The

actionizing of knowledge generally trails along a path carved out by preliminary practices.

The latter half, “I have seen what could be and asked why not,” ignites the non-preconceived

method of knowledge acquisition and its enforcement into the tangible world. To put into

other words, the prescribed title aims to address the possible ways of development of

knowledge and the methods of rendering it. The following question thus arises: Is it more

effective to actionize knowledge through a conventional method or through abstract means?

This essay will explore the prompt to back its premises through natural sciences and the arts,

and offer contrasting perspectives using imagination, sense-perception and reasoning as ways

of knowing.

Through the use of imagination, one could procure outcomes that are not reliant on anything

in existence. This is a rather unconventional method of sparking knowledge, as anything our

brain produces is inspired by an existing entity. In 1863, Jules Verne wrote a science fiction

novel called “Paris in the twentieth century”.1 The novel predicted the technology of the

1960s, and many of them were astoundingly to the point. It foresaw combustion engines and
1
Colin Marshall, “Jules Verne Accurately Predicts What the 20th Century Will Look Like in
His Lost Novel, Paris in the Twentieth Century (1863),” Open Culture, January 25, 2016,
Accessed September 23, 2019, http://www.openculture.com/2016/01/jules-verne-accurately-
predicts-what-the-20th-century-will-look-like.html.

2
its infrastructure, high speed railway systems powered by electricity from magnetism and

underground trains, fax machines, elevators, first generation computers and a means of

communication that would allow information to be sent from one part of the world to another

(what we know as the internet),2 and much more. His book was not published for 131 years

because critics believed that, “In this piece, there is not a single issue concerning the real

future that is properly resolved…” 3Here, we see that Verne created an empire of possibilities

regarding the future based solely on his imagination. The concepts of his novel were not set

alight from visual or sensory stimuli. They were rather a brainchild of pristine imagination

and can be categorized as “thinking outside the box”, as his extract did not conform to the

conventional standards of literature of his time. On one hand, it is important to note the

significance of the fact that imagination relies heavily on creativity. On another hand, it is

vital to acknowledge that literature is accepted as a scope for human expression as is presents

the development of ideas and images4. Creativity and expression are two of the key pillars of

art. In the general run of things, art is susceptible to external stimuli, however, Jules Verne’s

novel is one of the many testaments that suggest how bringing knowledge to fruition can be

done through what is considered as abstract imagination.

However, more often than not, the creation of knowledge or art requires a preexisting

impetus. Picasso was one of the founding members of the cubist movement. It is a form of art
2
Colin Marshall, “Jules Verne Accurately Predicts What the 20th Century Will Look Like in
His Lost Novel, Paris in the Twentieth Century (1863),” Open Culture, January 25, 2016,
Accessed September 23, 2019, http://www.openculture.com/2016/01/jules-verne-accurately-
predicts-what-the-20th-century-will-look-like.html.
3
Matthew Beaumont, “Unreal Futures: Jules Verne's Paris in the Twentieth
Century,” Architectural Review, October 4, 2014, Accessed September 23, 2019,
https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/reviews/unreal-futures-jules-vernes-paris-in-
the-twentieth-century/8670586.article.
4
Kenneth Rexroth, “Literature,” Encyclopædia Britannica, August 22, 1998, Accessed
September 23, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/art/literature.

3
that lead to one of the biggest revolutions in painting and sculpture of the twentieth century.

Cubism5 was propelled by the depiction of three-dimensional embodiment in the late works

of Paul Cézanne, a French artist. It includes analyzing an object from various angles and

breaking them down in order to assemble them in an abstract form to portray the subject from

an abundance of viewpoints to incorporate greater depth and context. Even though Picasso

unsheathed an avant-garde form of art, the substructure of this new art form can be reeled

back to Cézanne’s work, implying the fact that Picasso’s creation was galvanized by modes

of sense perception such as observation. One’s imaginative and creative capacity can be

stretched to measures beyond the old chestnut, but doing so requires inspiration developed

from preceding abstractions. The process of inspiration involves admiration of the inherent

worth of a stimulating object. 6 One’s creativity is thus usually catalyzed by a multitude of

factors in his or her subconscious mind. Therefore, it can be argued that the extensibility of

what can be done complies with conventions and is not solely a product of imagination.

Certainty of knowledge is generally derived from sense perception. When one contemplates

about ‘what is’ and ‘what could be’, they reflect upon its sureness, which is why before

acting upon their contemplation they address their confidence. Scientists tend to rely on

proven knowledge to further delve into their discipline. With that in mind, a reference can be

made to the discovery and proof electrons. The presence of electrons (or charged particles)

had been theorised by many physicists, but they were only proven to exist when JJ Thompson

had physically observed them in a cathode ray tube experiment in 18977. Thompson observed
5
Renee Phillips, “What Is Cubism?,” Manhattan Arts, June 10, 2019, Accessed September
23, 2019, https://manhattanarts.com/what-is-cubism/.
6
Victoria C. Oleynick et al, “The Scientific Study of Inspiration in the Creative Process:
Challenges and Opportunities,” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, June 25, 2014, Accessed
September 23, 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4070479/.
7
Chris Baraniuk, “Earth - How Do We Know That Things Are Really Made of
Atoms?,” BBC, BBC, November 20, 2015, Accessed November 17, 2019,
4
that these charged particles can be steered in different directions given when there is a

magnetic field present. Based on this proof, Rutherford furthered the knowledge about

electrons by presenting the nuclear model of an atom 8. This is suggestive of how Rutherford

ventured into ‘what could be’ based on ‘what is’ and established a new scientific

breakthrough. This discovery was evinced primarily because of observation, among other

factors. Through this, it can be outlined that sense-perception plays a vital role in terms of the

certainty of the knowledge one possesses. The discovery of electrons was once again stamped

into science books as the result of a rather conventional method of rendering knowledge.

On another hand, certainty of knowledge can also be derived from reasoning and empirical

evidence that is not related to sense perception. Higgs Boson is an elementary particle in the

quantum field called Higgs field, which provides understanding of the fundamental particles

and forces of nature.9 This was theorised and accepted because of mathematical evidence

long before there was experimental proof of it. Even though Higgs’ mathematical equations

were rejected in 1964 because the conventions of accepting such strong theories about nature

involve physical observation, the scene was completely different during the 1980’s, when

physicists began to believe in this phenomenon so dynamically that the concept of Higgs field

was taught in a graduate course at Oxford University. The Higgs particle was proved to be

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151120-how-do-we-know-that-things-are-really-made-of-
atoms.
8
“Discovery of the Electron and Nucleus,” Khan Academy, Accessed November 17, 2019,
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/electronic-structure-of-atoms/history-of-
atomic-structure/a/discovery-of-the-electron-and-nucleus.
9
“What Exactly Is the Higgs Boson? Have Physicists Proved That It Really
Exists?,” Scientific American, October 21, 1999, Accessed November 17, 2019,
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-exactly-is-the-higgs/.

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existent in 2012 at Geneva, long after it was already accepted by the physics community. 10 In

this case, Higgs’ exploration into ‘what could be’ was actualized through empirical proof

(mathematical equations) instead of evidence based on sense perception. Here, this crucial

breakthrough seeps into the scientific world due to its unrestrained acceptance by

mathematicians – an occurrence that could be considered unorthodox.

The different ways in which different disciplines understand and applicate knowledge is thus

subjective. As discussed, unconventional methods of bringing knowledge to fruition is as

effective as orthodox processes of actionising it, depending on the way of execution and

acknowledgement. It can be concluded that, the basis on which one steps into ‘what could be’

is one of the most important factors that determines its plausibility. Conventions are both

created and followed by the process that brings knowledge into life – whether it be books, or

scientific experiments. This viscous cycle will continue as long as mankind pursues their

yearning to unsheathe the unforeseen. But it must be borne in mind that, if one does not

extricate new knowledge into the world by propelling through barriers of the norm, the

furtherment of today’s world may decelerate.

Works Cited:

Baraniuk, Chris. “Earth - How Do We Know That Things Are Really Made of
Atoms?,” BBC, BBC, November 20, 2015, Accessed November 17, 2019,
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151120-how-do-we-know-that-things-are-really-made-of-
atoms.

10
Brian Greene, “How the Higgs Boson Was Found,” Smithsonian Magazine, July 1, 2013,
Accessed November 17, 2019, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-the-
higgs-boson-was-found-4723520/.
6
Beaumont, Matthew. “Unreal Futures: Jules Verne's Paris in the Twentieth
Century,” Architectural Review, October 4, 2014, Accessed September 23, 2019,
https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/reviews/unreal-futures-jules-vernes-paris-in-
the-twentieth-century/8670586.article.

Greene, Brian. “How the Higgs Boson Was Found,” Smithsonian Magazine, July 1, 2013,
Accessed November 17, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-the-higgs-
boson-was-found-4723520/.

Khan Academy. “Discovery of the Electron and Nucleus.” Accessed November 17, 2019,
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/electronic-structure-of-atoms/history-of-
atomic-structure/a/discovery-of-the-electron-and-nucleus.

Marshall, Colin. “Jules Verne Accurately Predicts What the 20th Century Will Look Like in
His Lost Novel, Paris in the Twentieth Century (1863),” Open Culture, January 25, 2016,
Accessed September 23, 2019, http://www.openculture.com/2016/01/jules-verne-accurately-
predicts-what-the-20th-century-will-look-like.html.

Oleynick, Victoria C. et al. “The Scientific Study of Inspiration in the Creative Process:
Challenges and Opportunities,” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, June 25, 2014, Accessed
September 23, 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4070479/.

Phillips, Renee. “What Is Cubism?,” Manhattan Arts, June 10, 2019, Accessed September 23,
2019, https://manhattanarts.com/what-is-cubism/.

Rexroth, Kenneth. “Literature,” Encyclopædia Britannica, August 22, 1998, Accessed

September 23, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/art/literature.

Scientific American. “What Exactly Is the Higgs Boson? Have Physicists Proved That It
Really Exists?.” October 21, 1999, Accessed November 17, 2019,
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-exactly-is-the-higgs/.