"Kennis is de ware tooverij": over kennis, kunde en connecties

Samenvatting

‘ ‘Kennis is de ware tooverij’ ’ (‘ ‘Knowledge is the true magic’) pursues the value Sloet attached to organizations which furthered mutual contacts, research, information and education, public governance and well functioning media as necessary links to knowledge and information. Or, to put it in modern terms: networks, education and research, public relations and communication. His contribution to the political culture is also dealt with explicitly, while in the following chapters this contribution is further illustrated with practical examples. The question is what his approach was, who he involved and what the results were of his efforts, even though the answer to this last question will be saved for chapters 5, 6 and 7. According to folklorist Tjaard de Haan, the fact that Sloet, in his ‘Ode aan de IJssel’ (‘Ode to the IJssel’) rhymes ‘stichting’ (edification/foundation) with ‘volksverlichting (‘enlightenment of the masses’), is typical for his active attitude toward life. He was one of the gentlemen who had woken, or wanted to wake, the countryside. His great strength was his zest for work, which was fed by his belief in the possibility of shaping or at least improving society and in the power of science. ‘Knowledge is the true magic’ was his motto as written down in 1865. At the same time it meant a confirmation of his belief in the divine nature which would allow itself to be uncovered by science. Nevertheless these discoveries needed to be translated to all layers of society if they were to benefit general prosperity.