What is wisdom?

[Hope]

How does one define wisdom? I think knowledge and wisdom are definitely not the same thing. Do others agree?

 

[Pah]

How does one define wisdom? I think knowledge and wisdom are definitely not the same thing. Do others agree?

My feeling is that wisdom is a product of knowlwedge - wisdom is ruminated knowledge.

-pah-

 

[Master Vigil]

I feel the same as Pah. Even though some say wisdom not how much you know, wisdom is how you use the knowledge you have. But how would someone know how to use that knowledge without the amount of knowledge to do so?

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Wisdom is the discretionary use of knowledge for the highest good. Wisdom is accumulated over time, and is a product of learning from the past. Like the old saying - "There is no substitute for experience" - and this is where wisdom comes from.

I think this is one of my favorite things about Eastern philosophies - they place a great value on age and wisdom, to the point that old people are truly venerated. In America, we look at old people as if they are footstools that are in the way. We put them in retirement homes, and turn our backs on them. What a tremendous waste of wisdom....

TVOR

 

[Hope]

Wisdom is the discretionary use of knowledge for the highest good.
TVOR

Wow! I like that! Did you make that definition yourself?

 

[Lightkeeper]

Wisdom is knowing you don't have the answers. Wisdom is a cup with a hole in it.

 

[Irenicas]

To me, knowledge is knowing about others and other things. Wisdom is about knowing yourself.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Wow! I like that! Did you make that definition yourself?

Thanks, Hope - yea, that one is all mine. Well, nothing I say is actually ALL mine. That is based on the people that taught me how to think and how to use the English language, but the definition is mine (and I think it's pretty accurate).

I just looked this up - from Webster's Online Dictionary:
Main Entry: wis·dom
Pronunciation: 'wiz-d&m
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wIsdOm, from wIs wise
1 a : accumulated philosophic or scientific learning : [size=-1]KNOWLEDGE[/size] b : ability to discern inner qualities and relationships : [size=-1]INSIGHT[/size] c : good sense : [size=-1]JUDGMENT[/size] d : generally accepted belief <challenges what has become accepted wisdom among many historians -- Robert Darnton>
2 : a wise attitude or course of action
3 : the teachings of the ancient wise men

Oddly, I find this definition wanting. That is rare, because I think Webster's is a great dictionary.

I searched a little deeper and found this, from a less abridged version of Webster:
Wisdom (a.) The quality of being wise; knowledge, and the capacity to make due use of it; knowledge of the best ends and the best means; discernment and judgment; discretion; sagacity; skill; dexterity.

Wisdom (a.) The results of wise judgments; scientific or practical truth; acquired knowledge; erudition.

Of all of these, I like the one I highlighted in red the best. I think it is definitely the best of the three definitions from Websters.

TVOR

 

[Runt]

Wisdom: The appropriate application of knowledge.

 

[Sunstone]

The Inuit have a word that means "one who makes wisdom visable in their actions". I find it interesting that the word emphasizes action rather than learning. I think we in Western cultures tend to emphasize learnedness as the primary indication of wisdom, rather than how we act or behave as the primary indication of wisdom.

 

[Hope]

Interesting tidbit, Sunstone. I think I agree with that. I don't think having a lot of knowledge--well, head knowledge, anyway--is necessarily a prerequisite to having wisdom. For instance, I think one can be wise and illiterate at the same time.

 

[cvipertooth]

Knowledge is easy to get. Just learn about something. Wisdom is how you use that knowledge. Everyone has an area in which they are wise. that is the area in their life where they can solve a problem where noone else can. I know a little about quantum physics but that doesnt mean i could win a nobel prize the that arena. A wise person can take the knowledge he has learned and apply to to society, learning how it can better benifit mankind.

 

[cvipertooth]

LOL. As the case in these forums, some people have just enough knowledge to prove they have no wisdom. :biglaugh: :bonk: