Gospel koan 50.4
Objective vs subjective
Koan 50.4
Knowing is dependent if subjective: 'tending to lie under' of one source and interdependent if objective: 'tending to lie against' of many.
Summary exposition
This koan defines the ontological structure of knowledge claims. The mechanism distinguishes dependent knowledge, which relies on a single, subjective locus of experience, from interdependent knowledge, which is built from the convergence of multiple, distinct sources. A solitary belief is dependent, while a scientific fact, verified by countless independent experiments and observers, becomes interdependent. The implication is that objectivity is not a state of view-from-nowhere purity but is a relational property emerging from the collision and agreement of numerous dependent perspectives. Reality is thus confirmed not by a single authoritative source, but through a network of corroborating witnesses.
