The Theology Pugcast The Unintended Consequences of "Knowledge is Power"
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Jan 26, 2026 They debate whether Francis Bacon’s phrase “knowledge is power” reshaped how we treat nature and technology. They trace intellectual roots from voluntarism to modern science and warn about narrowed values, surveillance, and AI’s metaphysical challenges. They argue for recovering older ontologies to redirect technology toward human goods while acknowledging unintended consequences.
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Voluntarism Recasts Knowledge As Power
- Tom Price links theological voluntarism to a shift where power becomes primary and intelligibility secondary.
- This shift reframes knowledge as a means to harness power rather than to understand purposeful forms.
Founders' Ideas Often Outgrow Their Authors
- Founders' ideas often get carried beyond their original intent by followers, producing unintended trajectories.
- The hosts warn that modest original claims can be transformed into sweeping cultural programs.
Material Reduction Shrinks Moral Imagination
- Reducing creation to mere material goods narrows our moral language and justifies exploitative uses of nature.
- The loss of metaphysical and teleological frameworks makes dominion prone to becoming domination.
