Philosophy Now Forum

What is wisdom?

Jaded Sage wrote:What is wisdom?

That's a tough one. We seem to have vague ideas about who to give the label to and who not to. However, defining it is a real beast (at least for me). In Plato's Apology, Socrates concludes that the reason the Oracle of Delphi proclaimed him to be the wisest man in Athens was because he (Socrates) "knew what he did not know".

Googling the definition I come up with:

the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.

the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.

the body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period.

Those sound to me like generally good starting points for answering the question above.

Gary Childress wrote:

Jaded Sage wrote:What is wisdom?

That's a tough one. We seem to have vague ideas about who to give the label to and who not to. However, defining it is a real beast (at least for me). In Plato's Apology, Socrates concludes that the reason the Oracle of Delphi proclaimed him to be the wisest man in Athens was because he (Socrates) "knew what he did not know".

Googling the definition I come up with:

the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.

the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.

the body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period.

Those sound to me like generally good starting points for answering the question above.

I suppose Confucius agrees with the Oracle. He said: true knowing is knowing what you do know, and knowing what you do not know. "Good judgement" sound right. Maybe orthyphro.

I've been getting this thing. The word that comes to mind is "distance." It's kind of figurative. But it comes with a feeling of: "I have been here many times before." It's a kind of non-boring over-familiarity mixed with non-conceited awareness of having considered something for longer and more times than the average person. To top it off, this different kind of confidence appears to be totally useless. I was starting to wonder if maybe it is wisdom. But can wisdom be useless?

IMHO, I think wisdom is understanding the deepest source of things whether general or particular and having discernment in things on life.

hazlett wrote:IMHO, I think wisdom is understanding the deepest source of things whether general or particular and having discernment in things on life.

What is "the deepest source of things"? Does each thing have its own source or do all things share one source?

Jaded Sage wrote:What is wisdom?

Learning from events and applying the experience in the future.

Jaded Sage wrote:What is wisdom?

Not to ask stupid questions, just like the one you are asking.

As i wrote elsewhere, in-forum...

"What is wise?"

If you know the cat is gonna shit on the sofa, keeping the cat offa the sofa is wise.

If you know your kid will become a frenzied juggernaut when he has too much sugar, limiting his sugar intake is wise.

If you know a particular parking lot is lousy with nails, keeping your car out of that parking lot is wise.

Wisdom is mostly the happy coming together of experience and a native capacity to learn from experience...but then, what do I know? My cat shits on the sofa, my kid bounces offa the walls, and I have a flat...

If (1) wisdom is experience, and (2) experience comes with age, then (3) all elderly people must be wise. Are we prepared to make that statement? or are some elderly people unwise? It seems some elderly people are unwise, therefore we must've made a mistake somewhere.

Jaded Sage wrote:If (1) wisdom is experience, and (2) experience comes with age, then (3) all elderly people must be wise. Are we prepared to make that statement? or are some elderly people unwise? It seems some elderly people are unwise, therefore we must've made a mistake somewhere.

No mistake here at all. The only mistake is your type of thinking. There is no "WE" made a mistake.

Points 1 and 2 are valid. Point 3 is a non sequitur. You don't get to insert the word "ALL".

...allowing oneself to think retroactively for the sake of the future. Going backward in order to better insure the steps of moving forward.

WISDOM
(wise-dom)

It’s the superior judgment, understanding,
And application that is based
On both knowledge and experience—
Far surpassing erudition; the quality of being wise.
The antonym is “folly”.

It goes so deep that one may even
Easily ignore one’s own (conditioned) thoughts
Which arise that are unknowable beliefs
Falsely identified as truth and fact
(A second level view: beliefs about beliefs, sort of).

One who has it may be be called a Wiz
(No relation to the magic of a wizard).
Learning feeds it to deal with the quiz.

Some run into the walls of life,
Time and time again, ever bashed and injured,
But never ever learning.

“Wishes” seen but only through one’s own eyes.
“Say” that they ought not to,
That they shouldn’t; but,
Wisdom notes that they still do, the reality—
That they can’t, they don’t, and they won’t.

Such is the human condition for some
That they may be immune to learning,
The curse that prevents the will
From becoming wider and having more choices.

Yet the ultimate vision remains available
For the rest and one day the “some”
May be swept up into its sum.

Wisdom is the ability to predict what will happen under given circumstances.

If I call a troll a name what will happen ?
Do I want this to happen ?
What are the alternatives ?

If I offer a free hug to a troll what will happen ?

Dubious wrote:...allowing oneself to think retroactively for the sake of the future. Going backward in order to better insure the steps of moving forward.

Dude, do you even know how wise you are? Like, really fucking wise. I've yet to convince anyone of anything on here, but I'm pretty sure the very best way forward is backwards, as you put it.

duszek wrote:Wisdom is the ability to predict what will happen under given circumstances.

If I call a troll a name what will happen ?
Do I want this to happen ?
What are the alternatives ?

If I offer a free hug to a troll what will happen ?

I learned in Philosophy of Science class that it is 'scientificity' that is the ability to predict.