What is Dr. Faustus' opinion of knowledge in Act 1 of Doctor Faustus?

Knowledge is the be all and end all for Faustus early on. To know is to be divine. Look, for example, at these lines from the first scene:

Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin
To sound the depth of that thou wilt profess;
Having commenced, be a divine in show,
Yet level at the end of every art,
And live and die in Aristotle's works.(5)
Sweet Analytics, 'tis thou hast ravished me!

If you live and die in Aristotle, you live to study the great works of man. If a philosophical work has "ravished" you, your desire for knowledge is passionate. And the suggestion of divinity indicates that to know is to become like a god.

Analyze the theme of knowledge in Doctor Faustus.

Knowledge is a key theme in Christopher Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus. The titular protagonist craves knowledge so obsessively that he strikes a bargain with the devil to obtain it. Marlowe draws a sharp distinction between knowledge as factual information and as personal integrity. The doctor’s quest for information completely dominates his ability to behave in a moral and ethical way. Faustus indulges in the sins of pride and greed as he advances his obsessive quest. His reasons for desiring command of the magical arts are based in lust for power, not in positive motivations such as helping others or spiritual self-development.

Because Faustus knows that the kind of knowledge he craves is forbidden to humans, his actions are not merely unwise but are even damnable. The only way he could obtain this arcane knowledge would be through making a deal with Lucifer. Because he was already aware of this, when he entered into his contract he recklessly abandoned his chances of salvation. He deliberately took the steps of learning enough dark magic to summon and enlist the aid of Mephistophilis. At every crucial intersection, rather than learn from his mistakes, Faustus compounds his predicament. Marlowe shows the lack of self-knowledge and prudent foresight as inherently dangerous. In the Christian worldview of his time, eternal perdition was the inevitable price for dealing with the devil.