"He Who Increases Knowledge Increases Sorrow": The Lesson of The Name of the Rose

I recently took one of those Buzzfeed quizzes to determine which one of America's Founding Fathers I am most like (for the curious, it was John Adams).  One of the 29 questions I was asked was what kind of a seeker I was.  There were answers for seekers of truth, seekers of the soul, etc.  But the answer I gravitated towards was a seeker of knowledge.  That should be very obvious to anyone who has been following this blog with any kind of regularity.

The pursuit of knowledge can be very rewarding.  Scientists and scholars are lauded for their ability to uncover the secrets of our world, our cosmos, and our very selves.  Our education system is premised on the idea that ignorance can be a kind of burden and that knowledge can set us free.  Wall Street traders try to get some "inside information" in order to make investments, even if that knowledge is considered by many to be unfair or illegal (see my previous blog post on the book Black Edge for more about that).  But there is also another thread to the this triumphalist view of knowledge.  In the Bible, King Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes wrote, "For in much wisdom is much vexation,/ and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." (1:18, ESV)  Too much of a good thing, in this case knowledge, can be a problem in its own way.

This is where the book The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco shines brightest.  The main character, the monk William of Baskerville (by the way, Mr. Eco, a little on the nose with your allusion to Sherlock Holmes, don't you think?), is an incredibly knowledgeable fellow.  He is well read and enjoys conversing with the monks of the Italian monastery he is visiting about different esoteric aspects of philosophy and theology.  The murders that take place in this monastery and their connection to the mysterious and closed library seem to really tickle William's fancy.  Much of the action revolves first getting into the forbidden sections of the library and then finding a mysteriously forbidden book.  William and his assistant, Brother Adso, pursue these goals, knowing that it will lead to the identity of the murderer, with a passion.  In fact, at times they seem more interested in unlocking the secrets of the library and the book than they are in identifying the murderer.  

(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!) 

But the pursuit of these secrets lead to tragedy. William and Adso do find the murderer and learn the secrets of the library and the forbidden book, but their pursuit leads to the fiery destruction of the monastery, the library and all of its priceless works.  William is obviously crushed by the destruction his quest has caused and we learn that he ultimately dies of plague in a rather brokenhearted state and that the monastery and its library are completely abandoned.

In this, I see a warning for all seekers of knowledge.  A single-minded pursuit of knowledge can be dangerous when the costs and possible consequences of that quest are not properly accounted for.  J. Robert Oppenheimer later in life regretted the research he did that led to the invention of the first atomic bombs.  Alfred Nobel was so ashamed of his invention of dynamite and the destruction it had caused in subsequent wars that he created the Nobel Prizes to promote peace, literature, and science.  The lesson we should take away from The Name of the Rose and some of our greatest scientists is this: all seekers of knowledge should count the cost of of their quests for "he who increases knowledge increases sorrow."

Thank you for reading this blog.  Tomorrow, I will be writing about Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli.  Be sure to follow my posts and share them with your friends.  Until tomorrow, happy reading!