Faust’s Epistemology

Epistemology derives from the Greek word episteme, meaning scientific knowledge. In Ancient Greek Philosophy, it is usually contrasted with doxa, or common belief. Epistemology in the western tradition is the theory governing the articulation of the laws of the cosmos in the highest possible standards. It is important to also note the etymology of the Greek word cosmos; it is where we get our word cosmetics from: to put into order. A cosmos is ordered, governed by patterns and language or the logos is the articulation of those laws (which is tantamount to understanding). To put simply, what is around us unfolds in particular patterns (cause and effect). These are logical and rationality is how we understand them.

Doktor Faustus spent his entire life looking for “the logos” in all the disciplines at his disposal. As he aged and realized that he actually knew nothing, Faust despaired and wanted to kill himself. At that point, Mephistopheles, as messanger of Satan appears and offers Faust a second youth. In this sense the tragedy of Faust can be understood as an epistemological statement. Whenever we suffer deeply we understand things in ways we previously didnt.

Here Bronowski talks about the “ascent of man”. I would argue that it was Faust’s epistemology also that enabled man to leave “the plains” behind. Our ancestors would only have been motivated to leave there current habitat behind when it no longer functions. On a more sublimated level, Faust’s epistemology is also active today. According to Thomas Kuhn, science undergoes paradigm shifts when individuals expose the flaws of current systems. They  embody the systems failure. Evolutionarily, this is significant since it suggests that these patterns we find acting in the natural world can be transposed to an intellectual level. We must have faith in reason.