1. Name: Felix Dyrek Candidate no.:001528-031 School no.:001528
EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT
Theory of Knowledge
ESSAY TOPIC:
“There can be no knowledge without
emotion…. until we have felt the force of the
knowledge, it is not ours” (adapted from
Arnold Bennett). Discuss this vision of the
relationship between knowledge and
emotion.
Candidate Name: Felix Dyrek
Candidate Number: 001528-031
Session: May 2009
School Name: Kolegium Europejskie
School Number: 001528
Word Count: 1258
1

2. Name: Felix Dyrek Candidate no.:001528-031 School no.:001528
There is a distinct relationship between knowledge and emotion. First of all, we have
to understand what knowledge is. The word knowledge has many different meanings. For
example, we can study for a math test, and after we have understood the ways we have to use
to solve the mathematical equations we have gained mathematical knowledge. We analyzed
the given information, accepted them to be true and retained them.
The problem is that humans differ from each other. We have different interests and the
positive emotions one might feel while doing a task can occur to be negative emotions for
another human. While solving mathematical equations, one might be interested in learning the
schemas. The person feels that the task he is doing does make sense and this is some kind of
inspiration to go on. The goal for this person is to understand the given information and retain
it.
On the other hand, a human who doesn’t like mathematical equations needs more time
to understand the information given. This human will not feel any positive emotions while
doing the task. Other emotions, like anger or fear will destruct his sense of logical thinking
and perceiving of information. It is some kind of torture because he does know exactly that he
has to gain this knowledge in order not to be punished but he doesn’t understand the deeper
sense. He might be able to understand the information but he will have some mental distance
to it. He will not have the feeling that this knowledge he gained is his knowledge because he
was forced to gain it and it will not have any sense for his future life. That’s also a reason he
might forget the stored information after a short time.
It is a fact that we are surrounded by information all the time. We do not even perceive
all the information. We just are aware of the information which seems to be useful to us. In
this moment when we discover this information, we consciously or subconsciously see a
deeper meaning in it. This deeper meaning or deeper sense we feel in this moment is the result
of an emotion that connects to the information. The information is analyzed and we gain
knowledge, which we actually feel and understand.
Emotions can be released through the evaluation of an object or a situation. For
instance, many people who experienced very hard or brutal actions like soldiers during a war
are diagnosed with mental disorders. Posttraumatic stress disorder is very common. We can
listen to the stories of the soldiers and we can try to imagine what happened, but we will never
be able to actually understand what they felt. We know that it has been a cruel time for them
and we can tell them how sorry we are that they had to go through this. However, we would
lie if we would say that we know how they feel. The emotion you might feel is empathy, but
2

3. Name: Felix Dyrek Candidate no.:001528-031 School no.:001528
this empathy can not explain to you how cruel the soldier’s experiences have been. It is just a
theory in our own mind.
Another example of linking knowledge with emotion is parachuting. Your friend
might tell you how great it was and that it has been one of the most intense feelings he felt in
his life, but you won’t be able to feel this if you are not going to do it as well. The knowledge
you have in this moment is just a theory and you might get excited, but to actually understand
it you will have to be in the same situation as your friend has been. Experiences have to be
undergone, they cannot be known in the sense of real understanding.
Without emotions such as curiosity we would not have discovered many things in this
world. Curiosity is an emotion which stimulates us to gain knowledge. It is a fact that many
important discoveries which have been made were actually discovered by accident. The
research is the result of interest, which is also curiosity – an emotion. If we wouldn’t be able
to feel emotions as happiness, anger or curiosity, we wouldn’t have any motivation to explore
the world we live in. We would have no motivation to gain knowledge.
Another proof for the correlation between knowledge and emotion is shown in the
research of the psychologist Antonio Damasio. He had a patient named Elliot. Elliot’s
emotional center of the brain was damaged. A brain tumor destroyed parts of his brain. After
brain surgery, he was in a good psychological and physical condition. His intelligence was
assessed to be above average. He also had a good memory, perception and learning ability.
But it appeared that he had totally lost the ability to make rational decisions. He wasn’t able
to allot his working time anymore; he transacted dubious business and lost all of his money.
He divorced his wife and married another woman, but this marriage did not last long.1
Elliot wasn’t able to feel anymore. All of his decisions were irrational decisions,
because he was not able to connect his thoughts and deeds with his sentiments anymore. Not
only had he lost his emotions, but also his measure of value. Obviously pure reason is not
sufficient for decision-making. The case of Elliot proves that pure reason cannot fulfill our
lives. Without emotion we might be able to live, but we would not able to interpret situations
well and act instinctively.
Humans who suffer from depression, and therefore have negative emotions
influencing them, can tell less details from their past than healthy ones. Also, they tend to
forget recent occurrences. The information we are surrounded by is interpreted in a totally
different way by depressed beings. These humans feel sad most of the time and do not have
the strength to do something in their lives. They are not able to use the knowledge they have
1 http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant%C3%B3nio_Dam%C3%A1sio#Elliot
3

4. Name: Felix Dyrek Candidate no.:001528-031 School no.:001528
to the fullest because they are simply not able recall interpreted information. Around 30% of
depressed humans complain about immoderate forgetfulness.2 Once again, the emotions of
humans can completely affect how we attain and retain information surrounding us.
An individual cannot acquire and understand knowledge unless they also comprehend
its emotional significance, an implication that seems to strengthen the one attaining
knowledge. This emotional significance is exactly what gives a person ambition to broaden
their knowledge. Even though this emotion triggers a person’s desire to search for this
knowledge, this emotion may also overwhelm the individual themselves. If someone is so
passionate about discovering knowledge, the emotion may create such enthusiasm for finding
knowledge, but not much knowledge might be necessarily obtained. At some point, however,
a great amount of discovery can be achieved, because the person stayed true to their emotions
and was patient enough. This is a reflection of all the scientists and other scholars throughout
history who were emotionally attached to what they wanted to discover or learn; and at some
point, they did and made a ground-breaking discovery.
It could have been suggested by Arnold Bennett that knowledge does not genuinely
belong to someone until they allow themselves to be overcome by such passion, even though
logic and reason advises against this permission. When we dedicate all of our emotion in
order to gain knowledge that is important to us, we might lose other things in our life, and we
may also lose a part of ourselves; but what we gain when we become completely emotionally
attached is the fulfilling knowledge that evokes the emotion in us.
Word Count: 1258
References
2 http://arbeitsblaetter.stangl-taller.at/GEHIRN/GehirnEmotion.shtml
4

5. Name: Felix Dyrek Candidate no.:001528-031 School no.:001528
1. “António Damásio.” Wikipedia. 08 February 2009.
<http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant%C3%B3nio_Dam%C3%A1sio#Elliot>
2. “Gehirn, Gefühle und Emotionen.” Werner stangl's Arbeitsblätter. 08 February 2009.
<eitsblaetter.stangl-taller.at/GEHIRN/GehirnEmotion.shtml>
5