I agree with your humbling account of knowledge. An epiphany needn't be a grasp of absolute truth, though. It could be just a widening of perspective, a seeing through of illusions, including conventional ones. And what does it mean when absurdity typifies our existential predicament? The clash can be practical and moral rather than just logical, the clash between impersonal nature and progressive civilization. What would a society do that deeply felt that clash?

Reading Rorty's an exciting way to get more into philosophy, as I said. He cuts through a lot of BS. I did my MA on pragmatic realism, focusing on Putnam and Rorty.