The Hazards of Being a Scholar
L. Ali Khan Over a period of forty years, I have published more than a million words in the form of books, academic articles, poems, short stories, and public scholarship such as this piece. Of all the published sentences, I am most proud of writing “ distribution of knowledge is a scholarly obligation ,” an axiom that captures an elegant virtue. Upon reflection, however, I myself don’t know what it exactly means or if it is even a good idea. This commentary struggles to explain the meaning of the axiom, potentially of interest to scholars in all disciplines ranging from physical sciences to social sciences, history to theology, literature to law. What is Scholarly Knowledge? Knowledge is central to the human species. Without knowledge, life would be impossible to live. In advanced urban societies, the knowledge needed to function is much more complex than in societies with nominal modernity. Fortunately, all cultures with varying degrees of openness act as public c...