Hossein Jorjani
First publication: 2026 – 07 – 18
The relationship between knowledge and power has long occupied philosophers, political theorists, and historians of science. Yet the two concepts are easily conflated. Knowledge may confer power by enlarging the range of possible actions, but it is not itself a form of political domination. To distinguish these meanings is essential for understanding both science and society.
Francis Bacon famously declared that scientia potentia est (“knowledge is power”). In the context of his program for the reform of natural philosophy, this statement referred primarily to humanity’s increasing ability to understand and influence nature through systematic inquiry. Knowledge was valuable because it enabled practical action. Power, in this sense, denoted capability rather than political authority.
Much later, thinkers such as Michel Foucault emphasized a different aspect of the relationship. Scientific, medical, legal, and administrative knowledge may become intertwined with institutions that regulate, classify, and control individuals and populations. Here knowledge functions within systems of social organization and political authority. The concern is no longer merely what knowledge makes possible, but how it may become embedded in structures of governance.
These perspectives are not mutually exclusive. Knowledge undoubtedly expands the capacity to act, and institutions may employ that capacity for purposes that are beneficial, harmful, or both. Yet the possibility of misuse does not alter the epistemological status of the knowledge itself. The laws of thermodynamics remain true whether they are employed to generate electricity or to construct weapons. Likewise, advances in genetics, statistics, or psychology may serve medicine, education, commerce, or coercion without thereby changing their scientific validity.
Confusion arises when the social consequences of knowledge are taken to determine its truth. Epistemological questions concern whether a claim is justified by evidence and reasoning. Political and ethical questions concern how that knowledge ought to be acquired, distributed, and applied. Although these questions are deeply connected, they are not identical.
Recognizing this distinction allows both dimensions to be taken seriously. Science cannot evade ethical responsibility merely by appealing to objective knowledge, nor should scientific theories be dismissed solely because they have been employed for objectionable purposes. Knowledge enlarges human possibilities; wisdom lies in determining how those possibilities should be exercised.
Hossein Jorjani 