Knowledge

https://www.humantruth.info/knowledge.html

By Vexen Crabtree 2026

#elections #epistemology #knowledge #Misinformation #philosophy #politics

Knowledge is an essential component of being human. In ethics, you must have some understanding of the implications of each path₁. Without it, said Aristotle in 350BCE, our actions sit in the same class as involuntary ones₂. Without knowledge, we are easily abused. Marriage without consent is abuse, and therefore sexual relations have a minimum age of consent across the world because society recognizes that consent requires knowledge. Unable to resist, about 15 million girls a year marry before age 18 (UN, 2017)₃. The resultant coercion, abuse and loss of autonomy are direct assaults against Human Rights.

In politics, elections are only meaningful if the people have access to information₄; knowledge enables people to be politically active₅_,₆, else, it is just an empty activity. Misinformation damages democracy₆. It is a matter of good governance that Governments collect data and base policies on evidence. As the world is complex, all of us require experts and specialists with deep understanding of their fields, else we are fooled by simple-seeming but wrong advice. And finally, after collecting information and understanding it (so that it becomes knowledge), we finally need to develop wisdom. To employ and use knowledge, we need to be aware of common thinking errors, and how to avoid them₇.

1. To Act Morally or With Free Will, You First Need Knowledge

#ethics #free_will #freewill #humanism #morality #morals

If you don't understand the issues and can't comprehend the consequences, then, there is no true meaning in whatever course of action you choose to take. It is so important to have knowledge of a subject before deciding to act that Aristotle in 350BCE said that "ignorance" is a cause of involuntary actions (alongside 'compulsion')₂. Therefore, argued Aristotle, it is voluntary and informed decisions that attract praise or blame₂. The requirement for extended deliberation over moral choices was also raised by Immanuel Kant in the 18th century, who worried that "morals themselves are liable to all sorts of corruption" and it is easy to get lost, and allow biases and subconscious subjective desires to influence our decisions₈. In other words, to really act morally requires a lot of thought and attention. Sometimes it requires education, sometimes it requires experience of others' lives₉. History has shown that any attempt to enforce ethics based on simple elements of doctrine tend to backfire - the world's religions are mired in the shadows of such attempts. The basis of Humanism and other non-religious naturalistic ethics is in the encouragement of people to devote time to working out what the best ways of behaving are, but without stipulating any particular rules of behaviour. The only exception to this subjective and cultural maze is the absolute nature of human rights, which have been worked-out by scores of dedicated moralists in order to arrive at very basic concepts which it is always wrong to deny. In short, freewill requires knowledge and the mere fact of 'having a choice' is not enough of a basis on which to judge.

For more, see:

"To Act Morally or With Free Will, You First Need Knowledge" by Vexen Crabtree (2016).

2. Politics

2.1. Elections are Only Legitimate if the Populace Has Access to Reasonably Unbiased Information

#elections #good_governance #information #misinformation #politics #public_debate #public_sphere #USA #voting

Meaningful elections and political involvement requires that the people have access to information; knowledge enables people to be politically active in a wise and sensible manner₅_,₆. Some consider access to unbiased information to be a fundamental right akin to free speech₁₀ but across the world, poor-quality information and misinformation is damaging the ability of populations to factually debate political and social issues₆ especially in non-democratic countries and the USA.

Citizens must have open access to the information that informs the political process, to the reports that government read, to independent evaluations of government plans, to economic and social data, to governmental financial expenditures, to policy statements and to a wide range of other information. Governments must inform and debate with their citizens, to try to convince them of their plans rather than simply assert their value₁₁. Not only that, but governments themselves - in power, and opposition parties - need that same neutral data to create policy₁₂.

Political representatives can only be held to account if the public are properly informed about their actions₆, including seeing what policies they have supported (via votes or otherwise) or opposed in government.

For more, see:

" The People Must Have Access to Accurate Political Information" by Vexen Crabtree (2026).

2.2. Leaders Must Use Experts (a Lesson from the Enlightenment)

#democracy #good_governance #rationalism #science #Scientific_Method #The_Enlightenment

The Enlightenment brought to the fore the advantages of basing policies on evidence and a solid intellectual framework₁₃: No longer were the pronouncements of forceful leaders enough; from then on, rulers must prove their case through convincing arguments based on facts and figures. This rationalist approach popularized the Scientific Method₁₄, and the requirement for knowledgeable experts to stand alongside politicians and rulers. The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) described Enlightenment demands on government as being "the enthronement of reason in public affairs"₁₅.

As rulers are prone to abuse their position for their own ends, power must be subject to checks and balances₁₆. And to end the cyclic spectre of prejudiced sectarian government and religious division, government must be secular and tolerant - that is - neutral, on the topic of religion₁₇. These threads all merged to form the liberal democracy that has proven itself as the best approach to statecraft we as a species has so far devised.

For more, see:

"The Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th Centuries" by Vexen Crabtree (2022).

2.3. Governments Must Use a Rationalist Evidence-Based Approach

#good_governance #politics #specialists #UK

The world is complex, and many popular opinions (and slogans) are simply wrong₁₈. The solution, even if unpopular, is to enable educated specialists to speak freely, to advise government, and to be listened to by the appropriate government departments. It is very poor management indeed to ignore and put-down expert opinion, especially as the public can be easily swayed into an anti-specialist sentiment, on account of the often counter-intuitive nature of informed facts.

Images shows nearly everyone going down the 'simple but wrong' path rather than the 'complex but right' one.

The philosopher Immanuel Kant spoke of the advantages of developing expertise over a long period of time, and conversely warns that failure to do so "only produces bunglers"₁₉ - a generalist with a bit of knowledge is no match for someone who has devoted years of effort to a topic. In H, Kohn's description of the 'democratic way of life', this falls under the category of 'open minded critical enquiry'₂₀. In an era where politics is being pulled away from depth analysis, David Nutt, a scientific advisor to the UK government, had to speak out for basic science, saying that being "willing to change our minds in the light of new evidence is essential to rational policy-making"₂₁, a truism that the developed world has long since assumed to be a part of liberal democracy, but is today increasingly being trumped by popularist parties, with politicians desperate to find support even in poorly-thought-out policies which don't have proper evidenced support. Some of the lessons of the Enlightenment need to be relearned.

Schumpeter discusses this around the context of economics and crime. Our technical ability to describe and predict world economies by 1910 had become "much more correct although less simple and sweeping" and has moved away "from that happy stage in which all problems, methods and results could be made accessible to every educated person without special training"₂₂. And the same with crime - our instincts and feelings alone lead to bad policy.

“Government and parliament will have to accept the specialists' advice whatever they may think themselves. For crime is a complex phenomenon. [...] Popular slogans about it are almost invariably wrong. And a rational treatment of it requires that legislation in this matter should be protected from both the fits of vindictiveness and the fits of sentimentality in which the laymen in the government and in the parliament are alternatingly prone to indulge.”
"Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy" by Joseph A. Schumpeter (1942)₁₈

For more, see:

" The Worth of Experts and Specialists" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

2.4. Which Countries are Most Modern, With the Best Education and Internet Access?

#education #modernity #technology #the_internet

Modernity & Learning (2025)₂₃
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₂₃
1	Finland	6.1
2	Iceland	8.1
3	Denmark	8.8
4	Sweden	10.4
5	Norway	11.1
6	Switzerland	11.2
7	Belgium	11.4
8	Germany	12.8
9	Netherlands	13.1
10	Austria	14.0
11	New Zealand	18.2
12	Czechia	19.7
13	Luxembourg	20.8
14	France	21.1
15	Spain	22.2
16	Estonia	22.3
17	Hungary	23.4
18	S. Korea	23.5
19	Slovenia	24.8
20	Taiwan	25.4
q=197.

The most modern countries, with the best results from education, the highest levels of research, and with the easiest access to information on the Internet, are Finland, Iceland and Denmark₂₄. The worst countries are S. Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia₂₄. Despite improves in global education, access to tertiary (adult) education is becoming increasingly unequal between the rich haves and the poor have-nots₂₅.

“Education, at all levels and ages, is the single most vital support for equality as well as being a country's most vital economic and social resource. [...] Every successful aspirant to modernisation and economic development, from Japan to South Korea, China to Chile, has got there with a big emphasis on education.”
Bill Emmott (2017)₂₆

27 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on Research and Development, Intellectual Endeavours, metric system adoption rate, Religiosity, IQ, Secondary Education, Length of Schooling, Maths, Science & Reading, the percent of citizens with access to the internet, Freedom On The Internet, IT Security, IPv6 Uptake and digital quality of life. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Baltic States and Europe₂₄, whereas the worst are Melanesia, Africa and Micronesia₂₄.

For more, see:

" Which Countries are Most Modern, With the Best Education and Internet Access?" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

3. Sexual Consent Requires Understanding of Consequences (Hence: the Age of Consent)

#afghanistan #arranged_marriages #divorce #family #gypsies #love #marriage #religion #romance #sexuality

“Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.”

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 16.2

Marriage takes many forms across the world, reflecting different cultural priorities, economic systems, and ideas about personal relations. Marriage is normally a source of deep companionship, shared purpose, and long-term stability. But it's not all good news. But marriage has also been used in ways that undermine dignity and human rights. Strict cultural norms can pressure people into unions they do not want, and forced marriages with no consent and child marriages can amount to slavery, especially for young women. The UN in 2017 reported that "about 15 million girls a year marry before age 18"₃. The resultant coercion, abuse and loss of autonomy are direct assaults on Human Rights. Religious rules that forbid marrying outsiders can fuel discrimination, xenophobia and violence. In the Middle East, for example in Afghanistan, "women are regarded as property of men [with] marriages... used in a way to end tribal feuds, to cement alliances between clans, or to increase a family's prestige"₂₇. In some regions, rejecting a forced marriage or seeking divorce can lead to family-based or communal 'honour' killings. Under-age marriage denies children the ability to make informed choices about their own lives, and historically, marriage has been used to control women's sexuality, labour, and freedom. These practices show how marriage, when stripped of consent and equality, can become a tool of oppression rather than a celebration of human connection.

For more, see:

" Marriage: Its Diversity and Character" by Vexen Crabtree (2026).