192. Curiosity
192. CURIOSITY
The ancients ranked curiosity as a sin. Isn’t it an intellectual good, and the mother of education?
Curiosity . . . may be sinful. . . .
The knowledge of the truth, strictly speaking, is good, but it may be evil accidentally . . . either because one takes pride in knowing the truth, according to 1 Corinthians 8:1, Knowledge puffeth up, or because one uses the knowledge of truth in order to sin. . . .
There may be sin by reason of the appetite or study directed to the learning of truth being itself inordinate; and this in four ways.
First, when a man is withdrawn by a less profitable study from a study that is an obligation incumbent on him. . . .
Secondly, when a man studies to learn of (from) one by whom it is unlawful to be taught, as in the case of those who seek to know the future through the demons. This is superstitious curiosity. . . .
Thirdly, when a man desires to know the truth about creatures without referring his knowledge to its due end, namely the knowledge of God. . . (II-II, 167,1).
To employ study for the purpose of knowing sensible things may be sinful . . . when the knowledge of sensible things is directed to something harmful, as looking on a woman is directed to lust; even so the busy inquiry into other people’s actions is directed to detraction (gossip). . . .
One may watch other people’s actions or inquire into them with a good intent, either for one’s own good, that is, in order to be encouraged to better deeds by the deeds of our neighbor, or for our neighbor’s good, that is, in order to correct him if he do anything wrong, according to the rule of charity and the duty of one’s position. This is praiseworthy, according to Hebrews 10:24, Consider one another to provoke unto charity and to good works. But to observe our neighbor’s faults with the intention of looking down upon them or of detracting them . . . is sinful.
Sight-seeing becomes sinful when it renders a man prone to the vices of lust and cruelty on account of things he sees represented. Hence Chrysostom says that such sights make men adulterers and shameless (II-II,167,2).
Fourthly, when a man studies to know the truth above the capacity of his own intelligence, since by so doing men easily fall into error: wherefore it is written (Sir 3:22): Seek not the things that are too high for thee, and search not into things above thy ability. . . (II-II,167,1).
“Corruptio optimi pessima.” The corruption of the best things are the worst things. The desire to know the truth is a very great good, and therefore its perversions have great potentialities for evil. But the thing itself—the desire to know truth—is a very good thing.
Actually, St. Thomas mentions no less than ten such perversions:
(1) Pride (“Look how much I know!”).
(2) Pragmatic misuse of knowledge for sin (“I’ve figured out when the cops are sleeping”).
(3) Using this good thing to avoid a better thing (“I can’t pray now, I’m studying”).
(4) Seeking knowledge from forbidden supernatural sources (“Whee! Ouija!”).
(5) Idolizing natural knowledge and scorning supernatural knowledge (“Science versus religion”).
(6) Curiosity directed to lust (“peeping Toms”).
(7) Curiosity directed to gossip (“Did you hear what Mabel did?”).
(8) Curiosity directed to detraction and libel (“Let’s get the dirt on this guy”).
(9) Curiosity that makes one shameless (“Let’s invent new ways to torture people”).
(10) Seeking knowledge beyond your capacity (“I’ve got to figure out the math of the Trinity”).
It shouldn’t be surprising that there are so many perversions of one good thing. As Chesterton noted, there is one angle at which you stand upright but many different angles at which you can fall.