INTRODUCTION


    In large part, the subject of this thesis is ignorance. How does what we don't know affect what we think and do? To clarify this issue, I would like to present a simple logical model of human experience.
    The universe of the model is experience. This universe is divided into two parts -- that which is mapped and that which is unmapped. By "mapped" I mean that the experiencer has an "effective" response to that realm of experience. An "effective" response is one that solves the problem encountered in experience. By "unmapped" I mean that he does not have such a response.
 
 
 
 
 

As does Plato in a similar argument (cf. Meno 1963: 382ff.), I will make a distinction between behavior based on knowledge and behavior not based on knowledge. However, unlike Plato, I will say that effective and ineffective responses can result from either knowledge or its absence.  One can "know" what one is doing and still unwittingly create a mess (witness DDT and the Aswan High Dam). Consequently, knowledge exists in both the mapped and the unmapped territory.
 
 
 
 
 

Outside knowledge in the mapped area of experience lies effective action without "reasons" (e.g., customs, superstitions, habits, etc.). Outside knowledge on the unmapped side lies experience for which no effective response is available and about which no knowledge exists.
    It is this unmapped area and particularly the unknown segment of the unmapped area that is the concern of this thesis. What happens when experience demands effective response and effective response does not exist? I will try to show that one obvious response to such a situation is to attempt to solve the problem. That is, in some fashion one must set to map the unmapped experience. Then I will try to show that one of the less obvious consequences that may sometimes be connected with such experiences and problem-solving efforts is schizophrenia. The conditions that distinguish the "schizophrenic" reaction from the "normal" reaction will also be considered.
    A systems approach will be used as the theoretical and methodological "bias" of this investigation. To start, the meaning (or lack of it) of the terms "culture" and "schizophrenia" will be considered. This discussion will be followed by a section in which I will consider ignorance and the nature of the human mind. After this I will examine ignorance and the individual. In particular the discussion will focus on the process or mechanism for solving problems and its possible connection with schizophrenia. The Thesis will conclude by considering further research implications raised by the argument.
 

1. effective and leading to "right action".
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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