Human Knowledge and the Advancement of Society

Abstract

Human knowledge is the means toward realizing a global civilization as envisaged by Bahá’u’lláh. This paper examines the concept of knowledge and its treatment in the Bahá’í texts followed by an exploration of certain themes specified in the current Five Year Plan as brought forward and promulgated by the Universal House of Justice. These themes focus the worldwide Bahá’í community’s consultation, reflection, and its efforts towards actions which exercise knowledge in constructing a better world. The paper also explores the individual’s adoption of an unassuming learning mode in response to applying acquired spiritual and secular knowledge to the complex and enduring process of civilization building.