When apprehending a world in which we are the only reality, there is also the possibility that we suddenly relate this state to one of loneliness, isolation and, ultimately, alienation. There is the matter of nothingness that is experienced when one feels ignored. We sit with a group of people that we don’t really know and are assigned the role of observer or quiet listener. This role is particularly prevalent among people at the two ends of the age spectrum.
As a young person, we are told to sit quietly, listen to and learn from our elders. When we “behavior ourselves” and agree to be invisible, then we are assigned the title of “very polite young man” or “sweat young woman.” In our senior years, we are similarly expected to just sit there and observe the energy and quick minds of those who are younger. If we are “well-behaved” by-standing elders, then we are assigned the role of “kindly old man” or “delightful but quaint old lady.”
We feel much like Amos, the husband of a major protagonist in the musical, Chicago. The husband is invisible, indistinguishable, and ignored. Amos feels like he is being unheard and underestimated. He even assigns himself the name, “Mr. Cellophane,” that comes from a product of the past. The painful experience of being “nothing,” however, is not of the past. It is regrettably present today and in all societies.
This is a form of nothingness that is truly intimate. Its intensity overwhelms any feelings associated with seeking to comprehend and appreciate the unknown and unknowable in our cosmos. We take it personally when sitting there wrapped in cellophane, wishing to be acknowledged in a crowded room of indifferent strangers. Thoughtfulness (Kahneman, 2011) and reflective practice (Schön, 1983) are the last things on our mind when the status of “nothingness” beats in our heart.
Comprehension
Is there a way in which we can move beyond the nothingness that is beating in our heart? Can we come to some understanding of the way in which we find ourselves not being alone in nothingness, but rather facing the nothingness of that which we don’t yet comprehend? With this comprehension, we find that we are not alone but are sharing an epistemology challenge which we all share as sentient beings.
Specifically, as Donald Rumsfeld suggested many years ago, there are four states of knowledge regarding the world. There is that which is known, and we know it is known. There is that which is known, yet we don’t know it is known. Third, there is the unknown and we know it is unknown. It is the fourth state that created all the news regarding Rumsfeld’s pronouncement. He speaks of the unknown that we don’t know is unknown. We might ask Rumsfeld why we don’t know that the unknown exists. Is it because this fourth state is often too scary or awe-filled for us to contemplate.
