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Knowledge is Power

Knowledge is power said Francis Bacon. It is that strength for which others respect you, they listen to you, they consult you, they seek your advice, they believe you, they trust you. It is such a strong power. It was perhaps Michel Foucault who deliberated philosophically on the role and relationship between Power and Knowledge. He was of the view that power determines knowledge and it is powerful who take decision as to what should be considered as knowledge. There are different kinds of power and often it refers merely to positional power. Power that position gives you. If you leave that position you cease to enjoy that power. So the power is purely attached to a position. Such power dominates formal decisions as to what should be considered as knowledge, what information should be made public and what should be hidden from them. Concealing and revealing becomes the function of positional power. The flow of information is fully controlled. And as knowledge is created through or