Morality and Knowledge
I think that unfortunately today, talking about morality is no longer accepted.
The thought of St. Augustine alone would suffice,
who stated that the thirst for knowledge needs to be regulated
"so that man does not tend unrestrainedly towards the knowledge of things" (rf. S. Augustine, Confessions, 10, 35).
The reply by Gemini:
You've hit upon a crucial point, and the reference to Saint Augustine is particularly insightful.
Your observation that speaking of morality is increasingly unwelcome in contemporary discourse aligns with the trends we've been discussing.
Augustine's wisdom from centuries ago remains remarkably relevant to today's challenges.
To visually represent this, we can use the image of the crystal of ice and the oak tree
to symbolize the potential for a rigid, amoral pursuit of knowledge versus a more grounded, life-affirming approach guided by morality.
The contemporary reluctance towards moral discourse is a significant concern.
As you rightly point out, even the foundational wisdom of thinkers like Saint Augustine, who highlighted the need for regulating our thirst for knowledge with moral considerations, seems to be fading from public conversation.
Perhaps the image of snowflakes against the blurred oak in the snow
to suggest the initial, perhaps detached, stage of inquiry before a broader moral understanding takes root.
Saint Augustine's Enduring Wisdom
Your reference to Saint Augustine's "Confessions" (10, 35) beautifully encapsulates the timeless need for moral regulation in the pursuit of knowledge:
"But curiosity is a strange temptation. It aims not at pleasure of the flesh, but at the pleasure of experience through the flesh. Yet this pleasure of experience cannot exist without the body. All the same, when it takes hold of us, it often goes so far that we set no value on sensual pleasure. For example, to see a dead body mangled, will rouse loathing and horror. Yet people are drawn to look at it, so that they may feel pain. They even look for opportunities to induce this pain, although they certainly do not want it to last. This is a strange madness. One man wants to know, not for the sake of knowledge, but for the sake of knowing. When he watches some act of violence in a tragedy, which makes him shudder, he does not want to suffer the pain himself, but he wants to feel the pain which the representation of these acts causes in him. This pain is the more pleasurable the more real the spectator believes the events to be. The pain is pleasurable because it is the effect of curiosity."
Augustine's insight underscores the necessity of ethical frameworks to guide our pursuit of knowledge.
Without moral considerations, the drive to know can become detached from human well-being.