Revolutionary knowledge – What We Can Learn About Knowledge in Erasmus Montanus

Knowledge exists in various forms. Knowledge and learning are the key topics in the text Erasmus Montanus written by Ludvig Holberg during the Enlightenment. People in the Enlightenment would free themselves from a limited and religious mindset. In addition, science became an important part of society, which resulted in a revolutionary advancement in scientific studies. Reason and understanding is what brings humanity into the future.

In the text Erasmus Montanus, Montanus and Jacob discuss how diverse knowledge of the world is useful. Jacob is a scholar and farmer who believes he can prove that the knowledge he has as a farmer is far more reasonable than the knowledge the monsoon possesses. He believes that the monsoon only studies about the physical form of the earth instead of talking about how to develop the things within the world. Although Jacob is negative to the thinking of the monsoon, there is the possibility that 

their knowledge can be used for the benefit of both.

During the Enlightenment, human beings were placed in the center and reasonableness became a priority over a thought that is not free. Ludvig Holberg was an enlightener who conveyed his opinions via comedy he wrote, for example, he writes "You learned to study whether the earth is round, square or octagonal, and we are studying to keep the earth alive." In this excerpt from Erasmus Montanus, Holberg writes about his view of why farmers (Jacob in this case) have important lessons that should be heard and appreciated. Holberg believes that all lessons are relevant irrespective of social status, and that is why he thinks that the best knowledge is the one that has an influence on society.

“Knowledge is the life of the mind.”

-              Abu Bakr

This is also explained earlier in the text: "I mean that the one who studies the most important things has the most thorough lessons." It is not always the most powerful masculine, or the richest one who is most capable. Holberg believes that one should not conclude that a scholar has the best knowledge, but rather that one should seek the right knowledge of the correct subject - what interests you. In the Enlightenment, one was concerned with reason as mentioned earlier, that is why Holberg believes that one should seek the right knowledge to find a reasonable answer.

"What I know is that if we peasants would also grab the pen and measure how far it is to the moon, then you would be very proud of having a sickness in your stomachs." In this excerpt from Erasmus Montanus, Holberg is critical of society. Here it is clear that the criticism he has against individuals with high status, which in this case is high worth, is that their ability to be hearing and attentive is not dominant in relation to being selfish and self-taught. Holberg was a man who was known to be critical of society through his texts, thus creating influence through his texts that was sensational to other teachers.

“…a white man is not superior to a black man, nor is a black man superior to a white man, except in goodness.”                         - Muhammad

                                                    

The excerpt from Erasmus Montanus also deals with what kind of identity one has. If you read the text in its entirety, it appears that the protagonist goes form having a common peasant identity to having an identity that dominates the farmer's identity. What Holberg will come to terms with is that these two social identities collide with each other in relation to knowledge, persons and status. In addition, Holberg believes that the knowledge can be distributed to all kinds of identities, including farmers, by adapting the communication method to the recipient.

With this I conclude that Holberg's view of knowledge can be seen from several angles, including one's ability to prove what has been learned, that all important lessons should be appreciated regardless of social status, that the most important lesson is the one that has an influence on society and that one should not look at how much knowledge one has, but rather what kind of knowledge one has. Ludvig Holberg was a man who was concerned with how society would look, thus making his view on society visible by writing texts and role playing such as Erasmus Montanus.

Sheis Iqbal

https://millenialmindofpeace.blogspot.no

MillennialMind