On Gor their is First,Second and Third Knowledge. too explain each should be quite simple.
First Knowledge: is very primative behavior and mindset,they believe the Planet is flat. first knowledge people are usually of the lower caste in most cases. they are very superstitious. They believe that ones first name holds magic, they further more believe that each person has a surname, or a use name. Most would not know how to Read and write unless there particular low caste, or subcaste requires such. they are aware of the Present, what the eye can see only.
An Example: Dephyrius Talon, Wishes to be called Talon Only. If you Used the name Dephyrius He would become Quite offended. the reason, The understanding and belief of First Knowledge.
On the level of the First Knowledge, it is maintained that
knowing the real name gives one power over a person, a
capacity to use that name in spells and insidious magical
practices. Perhaps something of the same sort lingers even
on our native Earth, where the first name of a person is
reserved for use by those who know him intimately and
presumably wish him no harm. The second name, which would
correspond to the use-name on Gor, is common property, a
public sound not sacred or to be protected. At the level of
the Second Knowledge, of course, the High Castes, at least in
general, recognise the baseless superstition of the Lower
Castes and use their own names comparatively freely, usually
followed by the name of their city. For example, I would
have given my name as Tarl Cabot of Ko-ro-ba, or, more
simply, as Tarl of Ko-ro-ba. The Lower Castes, incidentally,
commonly believe that the names of the High Castes are
actually use-names and that the High Castes conceal the real
names. ----------Pg 58-59, Tarnsman
I am Zosk," he said.
I wondered if it were a use-name, or his real name. Members of low caste often call themselves by a use-name, reserving the real name for intimates and
friends, to protect it against capture by a sorcerer or worker of spells who might use it to do them harm. Somehow I sensed that Zosk was his real name.
--Outlaws page 30
It might be mentioned, at any rate, that many Goreans, particularly those of lower caste, and who are likely to have had access only to the "first knowledge", take things of this sort very seriously, believing they are witness not to tricks and illusions but to marvelous phenomena consequent upon the gifts and powers of unusual individuals, sorcerers or magicians.-----MAGICIANS OF GOR, PG, CHAPTER 17
Earth origin, incidentally,was not a part of the First Knowledge, though it was of the second.'Torm,' I once asked, 'why is Earth origin not part of the First Knowledge?' 'Is it not self-evident?' he asked.
'No,' I said. 'Ah!' he said, and closed his eyes very slowly and kept them shut for about a minute, during which time he was apparently
subjecting the matter to the most intense scrutiny. 'You're right,' he said at last, opening his eyes. 'It is not self-evident.'--------- Pg 45, Tarnsman
Second Knowledge: The second knowledge generally consists of the High Caste, Those of the Second Knowledge are more aware of things such as the world of Gor being Round. They are More educated, most can Read, and Write. they generally dont Use surnames. they are not superstitious. Such as the Qoute above,with Zosk, it would be suggested Zosk Used His First Name and Not a surname, Zosk was either aware of the Second Knowledge or of the High Caste, Perhaps Both.
People of the Second Knowledge Are Told of, and are Aware of the Possibilities of Other worlds. There perhaps May be doubt, but there is also acceptance.
"He is from the place called Earth, too," said Marcus. Marcus, of high caste, was familiar with various tenets of the second knowledge, such things as the roundness of his world, its movement in space, and the existence of other planets. On the other hand he remained skeptical of many of these tenets as he found them offensive to common sense. He was particularly suspicious of the claim that the human species had an extraterrestrial origin, namely, that it did not originate on his own world, Gor. It was not that he denied there was a place called Earth but he thought it must be somewhere on Gor, perhaps east of the Voltai Range or south of the Tahari. Marcus and I had agreed not to discuss the issue. ---MAGICIANS OF GOR, PG. 295
"And I was taught many other things, too," said she, "when I could read, even to the second knowledge." ---Pg. 291, Raiders
"One that can sail beyond the world’s end," he said. This was an expression, in the first knowledge, for the sea some hundred pasangs west of Cos and Tyros, beyond which the ships of Goreans do not go, or if go, do not return. Samos, of course, knew as well as I the limitations of the first knowledge. he knew, as well as I, that Gor was spheriod. I did not know why men did not traverse the seas far waest of Cos and Tyros. Telima, too, of course, having been educated through the second knowledge in the house of Samos, knew that "world’s end" was, to the educated Gorean, a figurative expression. Yet, in a sense, the Gorean world did end there, as it also, in a sense, ended with the Voltai ranges to the east. They were the borders, on the east and west, of known Gor. To the far south and north, there was, as far as men knew, only the winds and the snows, driven back and forth, across the bleak ice. -------Pg 311 Raiders
Third Knowledge:Those of third Knowledge are Rare,They perhaps Maybe Agents of Priest Kings, They might have intricate Knowledge and Detail of the Priest kings or Sardar Mountains. They would be aware specifically without a doubt of the Powers that be, the Priest Kings, the Kurrii and their coalition of Agents that oppose the Priest Kings, They are Familiar with Ships of Aqcuisitions. Traveling to and From Earth to pick up barbarian slaves. technology is known. they are certainly Not as neieve as both the first and Second Knowledge. Tarl Cabot Clearly throughout the development of the Books transpires from the Second to the Third Knowledge.
The classical knowledge distinctions on Gor tend to follow caste lines, the first knowledge being regarded as appropriate for the lower castes and the second knowledge for the higher castes. That there is a third knowledge, that of Priest-Kings, is also a common belief. The distinctions, however, between knowledge tend to be somewhat imperfect
and artificial. For example, the second knowledge, while required of the higher castes and not of the lower castes, is not prohibited to the lower castes. It is not a body of secret or jealously guarded truths, for example. Gorean libraries, like the tables of Kaissa tournaments, tend to be open to men of all castes. "Gor, and the world called Earth," she said, "are prizes in a struggle of titantic forces, the forces of those whom you call Priest-Kings and of those whom you think of as others, or whom we might think of as beasts." kajira of Gor, 3/4 way through,----KAJIRA OF GOR, Pg. 388
I wondered, however, if the Second Knowledge, that of the
intellectuals, might not be as carefully tailored to preclude
inquiry on their level as the First Knowledge apparently was
to preclude inquiry on the level of the Lower Castes. I
would guess that there is a Third Knowledge, that reserved to
the Priest-Kings. ----Pg 41, Tarnsman