On Quantity and Quality in Human Knowledge

Any discipline of human knowledge is characterized by three fundamental elements: the complexity of its content, the method used for its elaboration, and the language used for its expression. This article argues that any method for making knowledge is a particular combination of three main components that we can call (a) science, (b) art, and (c) revelation. The right combination depends on the complexity of the slice of reality that we wish to understand in each case. Is there a relationship between the quantity and quality of a particular piece of knowledge and the quantity and quality of its eventual audience? Such a relationship serves, I believe, to avoid certain old misunderstandings.