SOMETHING is a manifestation. When there is something, we can look at it and know it. NOTHING is absence of any manifestation. When there is nothing then there is nothing to look at and to know.
Thus, one can only know what is manifested. One may only speculate upon what is not manifested.
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Thus, knowable would be the characteristic of a manifestation. When there is no manifestation then there is nothing knowable. We may regard that as unknowable.
The idea of unknowable immediately invites a definition; and this definition may simply be thought of as the absence of manifestation. This thought immediately becomes known, and it is not unknowable itself. But, through this thought we come closer to grasping the idea of unknowable.
We make the mistake of using “unknowable” as a noun. The correct usage of “unknowable” is as an adjective, but the only problem is that there is nothing to qualify with this adjective.
More accurate than the statement “God is unknowable” would be the statement “Unknowable is identified, or personified, as God, Uncaused Cause, Supreme Being, etc.”
KNOWABLE is that which is manifested. UNKNOWABLE cannot be defined because there is nothing manifested to be defined.
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We notice that there is no manifestation that could be regarded as unknowable. We may notice further that the thought of “unknowable” is, at least, knowable as a thought.
It is hard to conceive of unknowable. The ancients tried to describe it through the process of “neti, neti” meaning “neither this, nor that.” Then they said that even this description is not unknowable; and furthermore whatever remains after going through this process is not unknowable either. The ancients assigned to the unknowable, the label BRAHMA.
BRAHMA has nothing to do with a god. BRAHMA is simply a label for Unknowable. Ancients used fables to make the meaning of BRAHMA understood. They weaved stories in which BRAHMA appeared as a character, or in which BRAHMA was personified. But these were merely devices to help one conceive the Unknowable. The fact is that BRAHMA never was, nor will ever be anything other than a label for Unknowable.
On the other hand knowable is anything manifested from the flimsiest of thought to the heaviest of heavenly body.
KNOWABLE is the nature of existence.
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Note added December 11, 2010:
Both NOTHING and UNKNOWABLE are relative to a viewpoint from a cycle already manifested. Please refer to the essay Beginning. This viewpoint uses the cycle already manifested as its reference point.
This universe is a cycle. A super universe would be a cycle within which the cycle of universe may exist. From the reference point of this universe any part of the super universe would be both NOTHING and UNKNOWABLE.
UNKNOWN is more like something manifested but not known. UNKNOWABLE is that which is not yet manifested.
UNKNOWABLE is a theoretical idea that provides motivation to discover what is being assumed or being taken for granted in reference to the current cycle. This would be akin to the discovery of the UNKNOWN.
UNKNOWABLE may also provide motivation to look beyond the current cycle by no longer using it as the reference point. This would be akin to the discovery of the UNKNOWABLE.
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Note added November 3, 2011:
“Unknowable” is just an enticing placeholder that dares one to challenge it. It postulates that there always will be something that is not known no matter how deep one dives into the unknown… somewhat like an infinite series. It is quite an exciting concept.
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Note added October 17, 2014
The concept of Unknowable is better expressed as the non-awareness part of the “awareness – non-awareness” dichotomy.
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Glossary
KNOW
Origin: “be able to.” To know is to apprehend clearly and with certainty. One can only know what is manifested. One may only speculate upon what is not manifested.
KNOWABLE
Knowable is something that can be defined because it is manifested. A thought is knowable because it is manifested as a thought.
UNKNOWABLE
When manifested things become knowable; but when not manifested, we don’t know what is there. We don’t even know if something is there or not. That we refer to as unknowable. The unknowable provides the background for knowable. We may speculate about the unknowable. In that case, the unknowable manifests as a speculation, and we can know about that speculation; but we still don’t know about the unknowable.
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