Friday, October 2, 2015

Essay: The Quest for Knowledge


A reoccurring theme throughout this whole unit and previous ones that I’ve read was the explanation of why things appear the way they do. The ancients were very limited on their knowledge of the world but they sought a greater understanding. Most of these stories have something to do with animals, nature, and the extraterrestrial structures that are observed from Earth. Being a science major makes these pieces really interesting for me to read. They prove the curiosity the ancients had and the proof that we as people are always searching for a greater understanding of the world around us.
Within this particular unit it detailed the explanation for why the fish lives in water, why the elephant has such little eyes, and why the hawk eats chickens: amongst several other things. Of course in today’s society we know these explanations are far from the truth. The story The Fish and the Leopard's Wife was the one that detailed the reason why all fish live in water. The Nigerian people believed that fish used to live on land and were best friends with the leopard. The fish grew to love the leopard’s wife and while his friend was away he slept with her. After the leopard discovered what had been done he addressed the problem with the King. The King then banished the fish forever to always live in the water. In addition, he was condemned to be hunted by animal and man alike for food.
This of course is nowhere close to reasoning as to why fish live in the water. It simply provides an interesting view as to what people thought a long time ago. These stories have no scientific backing but they provided a basis for learning. The thirst for knowledge is the first step in actually acquiring it. We owe a lot to the ancients for first starting the quest for a greater understanding of the world we live in.
quest-for-knowledge

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