The control of knowledge and why someone would want to control knowledge

Philosophers would argue that for anything to be called knowledge it has to be justifiable, there has to be some truth in it and it has to be believed. We can look at knowledge from an explicit point of view which entails theoretical aspects of a subject. Its implicit side is the practical expertise of a subject. Knowledge is power in the sense that lack of it could result in the people suffering. This is well articulated in the Bible (KJV); (Hosea 4: 6) “ my people perish for lack of knowledge…” And the Muslims would pray, "My Lord!Enrich me with knowledge…" (Qur’an, 20:114) Such are the scriptures perspective on knowledge and Muslims believe it comes from Allah who through the Islamic leaders encourage Muslims to gather more knowledge.

A discussion involving a Christian and a Muslim about what is known can be a very lengthy debate given the fact they look at knowledge from the fear of the Lord and Allah respectively and they both hold on to the superiority of their religions. It is only until one takes a neutral stand to have a deep analysis and understanding of knowledge from these two religious outfits, it is when the truth can be known. Islam encourages its people to acquire knowledge more than any other religion. Muslims are told to go out there and gather knowledge from anywhere they will find it. This desire and desire for knowledge has not only passed from their leaders to followers but it is also cultivated in the family.

Experts in the scientific knowledge would demonstrate their ability technically and back it up with academic papers. That is how they are distinguished from the rest of the learned people. In order not saturate the market with too many professionals, the government or any other relevant body can raise the bar for certain courses and even make them expensive. Control of knowledge could also be that there is too much in the offing that everyone knows what is going on either in the government, institutions, households and social entities. To curb this vice, there will an introduction of constraints and difficulty to access the knowledge. What is so important in controlling the knowledge and what are the benefits to the main players? Professional bodies are said to have vested interest in the protection of the knowledge to remain a lean number and benefit more from the short supply accompanied by the huge demand for their services.

They will come up with strict measures and qualifications for anyone intending to join their team. It indeed makes it hard for many to pursue such courses and the few that managed becomes a team. In some cases, there could be even few slots allowed every year, so regardless of the qualified number of candidates, only a few get absorbed. The government through its agencies has a hand in ensuring it protects that which it considers not appropriate or good when at the disposal of its citizens and other people. Issues that deal with spirituality and religion have so long been debated on to no avail. It is easier to understand the science knowledge and how it is controlled by the relevant stakeholders.

When it comes to religion there are many things that most people do not seem to care about because they have been drilled since birth to just obey without questioning. Religion is said to have been the origin of informal learning before the development of any other type of knowledge. It is approximated to date back to 450 A. People needed hope, at least an assurance that no matter how cruel life can be, there was hope for a better tomorrow. A brighter day, light at the end of a tunnel, people needed the inspiration to go through their daily lives. This is what the Church was using to command power and dictate the next course of action that everyone obeyed including Kings.

Since the Church was the only source of knowledge, there was no much creativity and innovations in learning. Association with the Church was considered obedience to the law. Scientific knowledge can change with time but that depends on the new knowledge and its effect on the existing one. There had been cases where scientific studies have developed trust issues. Many people had asked about the differing levels of trust in scientific topics especially among the political class and even the members of the public or rather ordinary citizens (Zaller 1992). Like the uncertainty in the major scientific investigations expressed by the former president George W. Bush government and other members of the congress years back. For many years some theorists and philosophers have had an interest in the involvement of the members of the public in scientific discussions.

This suggestions have been brought forward with the aim to benefit the public more. So federal government like the United States is encouraged to facilitate more public involvement into scientific topics and developments to make everyone feel a part of the initiative and own the final result. Kitcher (2001) So many stakeholders have an interest in controlling scientific knowledge because of its great contribution to the society. This knowledge has solved and continue solving societal problems. This is great working for them as they have become a commendable resource in many disciplines that have solved the world’s problems and even hurt people as well. While concluding on this chapter, we can take a look back into the concept of knowledge and how it came to be classified as either religious or scientific.