What is Knowledge?
There was a general hush over the room as our ultrasound technician took measurements for our first “growth scan”. The chipper answering of questions became a more muted “we’ll have to wait for the doctor to answer that”. We would discover in the following hour that the baby’s abdominal circumference was measuring small, an indicator for intrauterine growth restriction and less optimal birth outcomes. One doctor was so worried they considered inducing at 28 weeks. And while this whole process has been scary and we were appreciative of the more attentive care we received, something didn’t quite feel right. All other indications are that the pregnancy is progressing relatively normally: good umbilical blood flow, active movement, hitting all the biophysical profile points, and continued growth from month to month. As it turns out, the growth chart that doctors use is not standardized across different race/ethnicities. In fact, 15% of non-white fetuses are identified as growth-restricted.[1] Fetal weight for Asians were generally 10% lower than standard growth charts would indicate at 39 weeks.[2] This phenomenon isn’t isolated to fetal weight. Across medicine people of color are often misdiagnosed or have lower than expected outcomes often because of the historical use of Whites as research control groups.[3] Thankfully, as medical education has included discourse on shortcomings in the medical field, there have been physicians and caregivers who have accounted for and helped us navigate potential mischaracterizations. Without the contemporary push for skepticism in established science and “fact”, I wonder if our experience would be drastically different.
Stephen Hicks’s Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucalt, set out to get to the historical and philosophical roots of the postmodern era. At the heart is how Hicks defines Postmodernism: “a metaphysically anti-realist, epistemologically skeptical, and politically collectivist movement that rejects reason, truth, and reality in favor of language, power, and social construction.”[4] For someone who is woefully unread in philosophy, I appreciated the ease of reading Hicks’s writing. And yet even as I play philosophical “catch-up”, two things quickly became clear with this book. First, it’s notable that even in the premise of the book, Hicks is likely hitting a nerve with Postmodern thinkers by abstracting principles, categories, and definitions from Postmodern thinkers.[5] Second, Hicks seems to go to great lengths (and some might say too far[6]) to make his points and critiques of Postmodernism. Hicks comes to the conclusion that Postmodernism is destructive as “a counter-Enlightenment movement that rejects the core values of Western civilization, such as reason, science, and individual freedom. Instead, it promotes relativism, nihilism, and collectivism.”[7] Ultimately, what I found disappointing was Hicks’s lack of nuance in acknowledging things to learn from Postmodernism even as an aide to inform the Enlightenment ideals that Hicks hopes to return to[8].
What I was struck by, as I was reading the book and as I perused reviews, was the tendency to either love the book or completely disagree with it. I’m curious if this question that’s being posed, “is Postmodernism right or wrong?”, is the right question. Perhaps the right question is “what can we learn from Postmodernism?” Could it be possible to maintain both the values of reason, science, and individual freedom while also supplementing them with healthy doses of relativism and collectivism? I’m unsure if solely pursuing Western philosophical ideals is the best way to move forward. I think it’s important to note this because it bleeds into our theology as well.
Yung Hwa, in his book Mangoes or Bananas, noted that when “the social location of theology switched from the church to the newly emerging universities, theology increasingly became separated from its pastoral and missiological roots.”[9] I resonated with what he follows with, that “the proper study of theology is not God per se, but rather the relationship between God and humanity.”[10] I found this to be particularly compelling in light of Jesus’s summing up of all the laws and prophets as “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[11] Two things to note. The first commandment, rests on your relationship with God. All the of the law and prophets that were to reveal God’s nature are summed up in our relation to God in love. The second law is like it. The word translated “like” is the same that is used when Jesus opens parables. “The kingdom of heaven is ‘like’…” It denotes similarity and connection. It’s almost as if Jesus says, Love the Lord your God and this is how you do it, “love your neighbor as yourself.” It seems important to note that Jesus most likely did not follow Western philosophical ideals. Perhaps then, it is important to continue learning from non-Western philosophers.
I want to leave you with one quote from the Chinese philosopher Ch’uan-shi Lu. In contrast to our categorizing knowledge as right or wrong, or as basic or complex, he says that “knowledge is the crystallization of the will to act and action is the task of carrying out that knowledge; knowledge is the beginning of action, and action is the completion of knowledge.”[12] If that’s the case, my hope is that our knowledge isn’t gauged by whether we’re right or wrong, what degree or titles we end up holding, who we reference or who endorses us, but rather by how we love. As we reach the latter stages of our program, I am grateful for all of you in helping to grow my knowledge in this way.
[1] Azanna Ahmad Kamar, Chuan Nyen Liew, Mei Cee Lim, Chu Kiong Loo, Rahmah Saaid, Shier Nee Saw, Sofiah Sulaiman, “The accuracy of international and national fetal growth charts in detecting small-for-gestational-age infants using the Lmbda-Mu-Sigma Method”, Frontiers in Surgery 10, no.1123948 (April 2023), https://doi.org/ 10.3389/fsurg.2023.1123948.
[2] Germaine M. Buck Louis, et al., “Racial/Ethnic Standards for Fetal Growth, the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies”, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 213, no. 4 (October 2015), 449, https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ajog.2015.08.032.
[3] Ruwaiijah Yearby, “Race Based Medicine, Colorblind Disease: How Racism in Medicine Harms Us All”, The American Journal of Bioethics 21, no. 2 (2021), 19-27, https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2020.1851811.
[4] Stephen Hicks, Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault (Ockham’s Razor Publishing, 2014), 17.
[5] Ibid, 6.
[6] Matt McManus, “A Review of Explaining Postmodernism by Stephen Hicks”, Areo, October 17, 2018, https://areomagazine.com/2018/10/17/a-review-of-explaining-postmodernism-by-stephen-hicks/.
[7] Hicks, Explaining Postmodernism, 212.
[8] Hicks, Explaining Postmodernism, 213.
[9] Yung Hwa, Mangoes or Bananas?: The Quest for an Authentic Asian Christian Theology (Fortress Press, 2014), 21.
[10] Ibid, 22.
[11] Matt 22:37-39 (ESV)
[12] Yung Hwa, Mangoes or Bananas, 25.
About the Author
Caleb Lu
14 responses to “What is Knowledge?”
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Outsanding post, Caleb. I am praying for your family while writing this reply and I am inspired by your diligence and faith.
I think you summed it up with Love which came directly from Jesus. It’s powerful and clear. The Jesus philosophy is the only one that truly matters in ancient and modern settings. I also like that you mentioned ideals bleed into theology. I think that is wise. I have witnessed the indoctrination of values beliefs and misconceptions of theology that may or may not hold weight nonetheless accepted as fact with no concrete basis. It’s simply taught and/or accepted in certain denominational settings ex. baptism, eucharist. ‘hail marry’s, ‘ or any non-direct Biblical tradition. Do you believe the Christian Church as a whole has been impacted by post-modernism? Does Hick’s belief in PM being destructive explain a lot of differences and perhaps negative things we’ve seen in the church?
Thank you!
Michael, thank you for praying with us!
To your questions, I was appreciative of David’s post, I think he summed up the pursuit of various extremes of philosophies well, as ultimately centered on self rather than on the overarching narrative of the Bible. To that end, Christians can pursue either Postmodernism and Enlightenment ideals rather than Christ-likeness. Both are destructive, albeit it different ways.
Thank you. I also read David’s post this evening and concur that anything outside of Christ will ultimately lead to destruction. We could name a philosophy, style, “rights,” or any pre or postmodern ideals, and analyze the end result without Christ and I do not think it will end well.
Caleb, excellent and thought provoking post. I have had many conversations with friends and family about what it means to be a follower of Christ, what it looks like. I wonder how much of the post modernity relativism, nihilism, and collectivism have roots in Christians not being Christ like. With the amount of judgement and hostility from those who claim to be Christians, it is no wonder so many people reject God. My heart grieves at the stories I hear in my community about how the church has treated people. I like your question, “What can we learn from Postmodernism?” I wonder how the church would change if we truly looked at this question and pursued an answer.
Becca, thanks for sharing!
I may be reading what you wrote incorrectly, but I’m actually curious how relativism and collectivism could be more Christ-like in some ways. I’m unsure if nihilism always goes hand in hand with the other two.
Caleb,
Way to go, keep firing away! You have so much to say that the world needs to hear. Well done!
Caleb,
Wow, I think I need to read this again!
I enjoyed hearing how knowledge was able to help you and your wife make better judgments regarding your new little one. I was breathing a little easier at the end of the first paragraph.
I appreciated your definition of knowledge at the end. Are there other Chinese philosopher’s you would like to introduce to us?
This is powerful:
“my hope is that our knowledge isn’t gauged by whether we’re right or wrong, what degree or titles we end up holding, who we reference or who endorses us, but rather by how we love”
Your blog was wonderful to read. Great work
Kristy, thanks for you encouraging words, and yes, I probably should have led with “everything’s fine!”.
Ironically, philosophy is a relatively newer word in Chinese, introduced from Western influence. Yung Hwa mentions quite a few in his book Mangoes or Bananas?. and they’re all helpful as he uses them to explain theology from an Asian perspective.
Perhaps one more relevant quote is from a philosopher named Lian Ch’i-ch’ao, saying on his philosophy of life, “the most important subject was how to behave as a man, how one can truly be called a man, and what kind of relationships exist among men.”
Great work Caleb. Very insightful. I wonder if the default to black-and-white thinking is, as Friedman would contend, a symptom of our overall anxiety as a society. Nuance is difficult. Black-and-white thinking in a world of complexity and ambiguity feels “safe.” What I find interesting is the black-and-white thinking
of postmodern intellectuals. There seems to be consensus among postmodern intellectuals, as Hicks points out, that socialism is the preferred future. But what you point out is that instead of black-and-white thinking around these issues, we should instead choose curiosity (particularly learning from non-Western cultures) and love.
As per usual, you inspire me with your thinking.
Yes! I wanted to write about “black-and-white” thinking or as I refer to it “either/or-ism”, but I was already over the word limit. I sensed that you might have had more to say for your blog but ran out of space as well.
Thanks for your encouragement! I found your writing on Hicks to be particularly helpful and like-minded in searching/suggesting a third or middle path.
Caleb,
I was nervous reading the first paragraph about your baby! You had my heart in a knot for sure! Thankful everything is alright.
I really like your question about postmodernism – that perhaps we shouldn’t be asking if it’s right or wrong, but rather, what can we learn from it? You have a tendency to take my thought processes to the next level with your posts, and I love that! Thank you! And thank you for your continued transparency. I love the way you write.
Caleb,
Wow…thank you for sharing your experience. Your experience with your unborn child is made even more anxious now that you are navigating differing medical perspectives. Thank you for pointing out the ways that non-whites are often compared to white-control groups, which can lead to misdiagnosis. Praying for a healthy pregnancy.
Thank you for your question: what can we learn from postmodernism? Perhaps I am Hegelian – but I think the critique reveals the very questions that need to be considered. Modernism did not offer a complete and total explanation of all realities, therefore postmodernism is a natural antithesis to be considered.
I also appreciate you highlighting the separation of theology as academic discipline from pastoral/missional ministry. There is a gulf between the two that makes pastoral ministry less academically informed and solely relying on pragmatic techniques. It really is a problem of specialization that plagues many disciplines. Thank you for your post.
Caleb, Thank you so much for your post. So good! Thank you for sharing your personal story about your baby. I am so glad that your baby is healthy and arriving soon! What an exciting season for your family!
Starting with your personal story as a way of launching into the point of your blog was quite effective. I especially appreciated this quote from you: “I’m curious if this question that’s being posed, ‘is Postmodernism right or wrong?’, is the right question. Perhaps the right question is ‘what can we learn from Postmodernism?'” I think we can learn something here.
I also am going to continue mulling over the quote you included from Chinese philosopher Ch’uan-shi Lu. Thank you so much for challenging us to think beyond the book and beyond the paradigms of the Western culture. I, too, am grateful for the ways I’m growing as a result of interacting with everyone in our cohort! I so appreciate your writing!
“knowledge is the crystallization of the will to act and action is the task of carrying out that knowledge; knowledge is the beginning of action, and action is the completion of knowledge.”
If that’s the case, my hope is that our knowledge isn’t gauged by whether we’re right or wrong, what degree or titles we end up holding, who we reference or who endorses us, but rather by how we love.
Caleb! This post! MAN! Right in the feels! I appreciate you, and your writing.