A Guide for the Perplexed

A Guide for the Perplexed is a short book by E.F. Schumacher, published in 1977. While better known for his 1974 environmental economics bestseller Small is Beautiful, which made him a leading figure within the ecology movement, Schumacher himself considered A Guide for the Perplexed to be his most important achievement. His daughter wrote that her father handed her the book on his deathbed, five days before he died and he told her "this is what my life has been leading to"'.{{Ref|Pearce}} As the Chicago Tribune wrote "A Guide for the Perplexed is really a statement of the philosophical underpinnings that inform Small is Beautiful."

Four fields of knowledge

Schumacher identifies four fields of knowledge for the individual:

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• I ? inner
• I ? other persons
• other persons ? I
• I ? the world

Schumacher notes that humans only have direct access to fields one and four.

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Field one is being aware of your feelings and thoughts and most closely correlates to self awareness. Schumacher argues this is fundamentally the study of attention. He differentiates between when your attention is captured by the item it focuses upon, which is when a human being functions much like a machine; and when a person consciously directs their attention according to their choosing. This for Schumacher is the difference between being lived and living.

Related Topics:
Self awareness - Attention

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Schumacher observes that the idea of awakening is common idea in all the great religions. Buddhism is sometimes called the Doctrine of Awakening and in the New Testament Jesus constantly exhorts his followers to "stay awake, to watch, not to fall asleep."{{Ref|AGFTPp81}} The aim of these teachings is to perceive the world and mind with a pure awareness without preconceptions.

Related Topics:
Buddhism - New Testament - Jesus

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Field two is being aware of what other people are thinking and feeling. Schumacher suggests that actually understanding another individual is something of a 'miracle' when you really think about how difficult it is. The problem of being aware of other people is a four step process and involves two 'translations'. In order to understand someone else four steps have take place

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• The other person must be self aware enough to know what they really feel and think.
• The other person must translate their thoughts and feelings into words and gestures.
• You must perceive their words and gestures clearly.
• You must then translate these words and gestures and come to the same understandings as the other person.

Despite these problems we do experience a 'meeting of minds' with other individuals at certain times. People are even able to ignore the words actually said, and say something like "I don't agree with what you are saying; but I do agree with what you mean." Schumacher argues that one of the reasons we can understand other people is through bodily experience, because so many bodily expressions, gestures and postures are part of our common human heritage.

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Schumacher observes that the traditional answer to the study of field two has been "You can understand others to the extent you understand yourself."{{Ref|AGFTPp95}} Schumacher points out that this a logical development of the principle of adequateness, how can you understand someone's pain unless you to have experienced pain? "Symbols", he says, "cannot be understood like mathematical formulae, they have to be experienced interiorly".{{Ref|AGFTPp98}}

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Field three is understanding yourself as an objective phenomenon. Knowledge in field three requires you to be aware what other people think of you. Schumacher suggests that the most fruitful advice in this field can be gained by studying the Fourth Way concept of external considering.

Related Topics:
Fourth Way - External considering

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Schumacher observes that relying on just field one knowledge makes you feel that you are the centre of the universe; while focusing on field three knowledge makes you feel you far more insignificant. Seeking self knowledge via both fields provides more balanced and accurate self knowledge.

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Field four is the behaviourist study of the outside world. Science is highly active in this area of knowledge and many people believe it is the only field in which true knowledge can be gained. For Schumacher, applying the scientific approach is highly appropriate in this field.

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Schumacher summarises is views about the four fields of knowledge as follows:

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• Only when all four fields of knowledge are cultivated can you have true unity of knowledge. Instruments and methodologies of study should be only applied to the appropriate field they are designed for.
• Clarity of knowledge depends on relating the four fields of knowledge to the four levels of being.
• The instructional sciences should confine their remit to field four, because it is only in the field of appearances that mathematical precision can be obtained. The descriptive sciences, however, are not behaving appropriately if they focus solely on appearances, and must delve in meaning and purpose or they will produce sterile results.
• Self knowledge can only be effectively pursued by balanced study of field one (self awareness) and field three (objective self knowledge).
• Study of field two (understanding other individuals) is dependent on first developing a powerful insight into field one (self awareness).