G.I.Gurdjieff

THERE ARE, SO TO SPEAK, two lines along which our development proceeds: the line of knowledge and the line of being.

The most characteristic feature of modern man is the absence of inner unity, along with a complete lack of those traits we most like to ascribe to ourselves, that is, “lucid consciousness,” “free will,” an “invariable ‘I,’ ” and the “ability to ‘do.’

Developing only the line of knowledge creates someone who knows quite a lot but is unable to do anything, a person who does not understand what he knows, who is without appreciation and does not distinguish between one kind of knowledge and another. On the other hand, someone who develops only along the line of being and disregards knowledge has the
capacity to do a great deal but has no idea what to do or why. This person would do whatever his subjective feelings happen to dictate, which may lead him greatly astray and cause him to commit grave mistakes. In either case, both knowledge and being are brought to a standstill, and neither can develop any further.