What Is Knowledge

What is knowledge? Converters, Complexity and Power Nietzsche says (published after his death) “In some remote corner of the universe, bathed in fires of innumerable solar systems, there once was a planet where clever animals invented knowledge. That was the grandest and most mendacious minute of “universal history.” Knowledge says Nietzsche is the outcome of the interplay between instincts. It’s like a ‘spark between two swords’ but not a thing made of their metal. At the centre, at the root of knowledge, Nietzsche places something like hatred, struggle and power relations. Foucault (1994) goes further to say that this “means that knowledge is always a certain strategic relation in which man is placed. This strategic relation is what will define the effect of knowledge, that’s why it would be completely contradictory to imagine a knowledge that was not by nature partial, oblique and perspectival. The perspectival nature of knowledge derives not from human nature but always from the polemical and strategic character of knowledge”. It is from these two view points that I would like to synthesise the nature of knowledge and its relationship to power and complexity (Rosen’s 1991, meaning of Complexity). Although from Nietzsche's point of view I shouldn’t bother as we cannot reflect that which is a mendacious reflection in the first place. Maybe we should liken knowledge to knitting fog, anyway from this I will draw a picture of knowledge and its relationships. It is my contention that knowledge is a unique converter (ie the ability to transform). I will introduce all the converters (how these converters were deduced is beyond the scope of this abstract) in this paper and only discuss them in terms of the relationship between “quality and quantity”. The categories of converters There are four categories of converters. What I mean by converter is that a quality can be converted to a quantity and vice versa by a mapping association. Converters are forms of power (Ritz 2004). Category A Converter Money Land, Buildings Work (human effort as defined by Jaques 1994) Category B Converter Electricity

Category C Converter Organisation Movable Property Products/services Category D Converter Knowledge Human Motivation (emotion) (Ritz 2001) The following table outlines the mapping relationship between quality and quantity. Converter

Supply-demand

Quality

Quantity

Money

With self

Many

1

Electricity

With self

1

many

Organisation

Though organisation

1

1

Work

from organisation

many

1

Land/buildings/immovable

Actual self ?

many

1

Knowledge (IP)-know-how

Actual self ?

many

many

Movable Property

Actual self ?

1

1

Motivation (Emotional)

Actual self ?

many

many

Product/service

Actual self ?

1

1

Property (LIME)

Mapping Converters Qualities and Quantities Table. It is clear from the above table and categories that the mapping relationship defines the complexity (Rosen 1991). Only Category D is complex. The conclusion that can be reached from this simple synthesis is. •

There is no end to relationships with knowledge (and human emotion).

•

No end to new and novel outcomes from knowledge and human motivation.

•

Knowledge and human motivation is possibly the pinnacle of all power relationships.

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We may be in for some surprises within the decade.

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Maybe Nietzsche’s comments are robust and the invention of knowledge is just an expansion and extension of the human mind.

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Ashby’s Law of Requiste varity holds true for knowledge as quality is a variety generator.