“N

ot ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance is the death of knowledge.”
– Alfred North Whitehead

In the previous essay we explored the factors contributing to the growth of ignorance in Pakistan and examined how this shapes our perspectives. We focused particularly on the role of social media to highlight that a tongue, or a keyboard, devoid of knowledge only serves to darken the mind.

We illuminate the darkness within by pushing the existing boundaries of knowledge, not by regurgitating what has already been digested. This expansion of understanding enables us to grasp the emerging realities and changes sweeping across our world. But such comprehension is impossible if we insist on applying preconceived notions to unfamiliar or evolving contexts.

In Pakistan’s current social mind-set and cultural milieu, the material world continues to shift, while the mind remains trapped in inherited frameworks. This disconnect, between a fixed mind-set and an ever-changing world, affects individuals across ideological lines, whether atheist, religious, Marxist or liberal. Consequently, many remain unaware of the ongoing paradigm shifts in the sociology of knowledge, its production and its dissemination.

Traditionally, scholars dedicated time and energy to the long, often painstaking pursuit of knowledge. Only after exploring the many dimensions of a subject would they share their insights. In other words, knowledge came first, and communication followed.

Today, however, the very structure of social media has upended this epistemic order. In a world dominated by virtual platforms, we tend to communicate first and rarely bother to acquire true knowledge. This is why someone armed with little more than the gift of the gab and a few Wikipedia entries can confidently challenge a scholar in their own field.

Content has now become subservient to the medium; the signifier has overtaken the signified. This is why we are witnessing the rise of populists, celebrities, speakers and influencers in Pakistan who often perpetuate the illusion of knowledge. The result is a spreading darkness of ignorance and a corresponding dimming of the light of knowledge.

This darkness envelops even those who appear ideologically opposed. The enlightenment, once the torchbearer of modernity, now seems to have entered its own twilight. Against this backdrop, this essay aims to examine the particular frame of........

© The News on Sunday