Theme Of Knowledge In Fahrenheit 451

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A Theory Of Knowledge “The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge,” said Bertrand Russell according to brainyquotes.com. Knowledge is significant to mankind because it provides us with boundless power with which homosapiens use to dominate over all living creatures who are physically stronger than us. Additionally, the thirst of knowledge we have acquired has resulted in numerous scientific, medical, philosophical, and geographical discoveries that have caused the mind to perceive the world in all the magnificent ways it does. Lastly, by knowing what happened throughout history, we bring ourselves the opportunity to learn from mistakes created in the past so we do not repeat the fault. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury expresses the theme that although ignorance can bestow bliss, knowledge and learning can bring forth pure and true happiness, emotions, and so much more. …show more content…

Books are a window to emotions and experiences that the people in this society cannot, or will not enable. A quote that portrays this motif well is, “‘I don 't know. We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren 't happy. Something 's missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I 'd burned in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help.’" (Bradbury 82). Here Montag becomes aware that the society, who are detached from the world, is missing something prime to life. They do not want to see, or even wonder about what anything means. In this world that Montag inhabits, life must be painless and effortless. It is a waste of time to be anything else but happy. But what does it mean to be genuinely