The Ends of Knowledge: Outcomes and Endpoints Across the Arts and Sciences

This book explores the concept of "the last or furthest end of knowledge" in the context of the Enlightenment and the Information Age, questioning whether disciplines have inherent purposes and natural endpoints. Contributors from various fields examine the commonalities between seemingly disparate subjects and propose a reorganization of knowledge production.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 29 June 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

This captivating book brings together a diverse group of knowledge workers, scholars, and activists from various fields, revisiting a fundamental question of the Enlightenment: what is the ultimate or furthest end of knowledge? It delves into the motivations behind our actions and explores the possibility of knowing when we have reached our destination. During the reorganization of knowledge that characterized the Enlightenment, disciplines were envisioned as having specific "ends," both in terms of purposes and ultimate outcomes. As we navigate the transition into the knowledge economy of the Information Age, this collection raises the question of whether we still conceive of knowledge in such a manner. Does each discipline possess an inherent purpose and a natural endpoint? What connects an experiment on a fruit fly, a thoughtful reading of a poem, and the creation of a line of code?

Contributors to this collection, spanning diverse areas such as artificial intelligence, biology, Black studies, literary studies, physics, political activism, and the concept of disciplinarity itself, uncover a promising future for subjects facing immediate threats to the structure and essence of their contributions. These essays, ranging from reflective to historical, eulogistic to polemical, chart a vital and necessary course toward the reorganization of knowledge production as a whole. By exploring the boundaries between disciplines and challenging traditional hierarchies, this book offers a fresh perspective on the pursuit of knowledge and its potential for shaping a better future.

Weight: 424g
Dimension: 235 x 158 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350242289