Wisdom

23 September 2011

我们本周的话题是智慧。我们希望弄清楚它是什么,以及我们如何在自己和他人身上培养它。我们也渴望思考所有的智者都去了哪里。毕竟,我们的时代拥有无与伦比的科学知识和技术专长。但是,尽管我们拥有所有的知识和专业知识,我们似乎并没有多余的智慧。事实上,恰恰相反。

曾几何时,尤其是在古代,哲学家们对智慧的本质进行了很多思考。事实上,从定义上看,这几乎是正确的。“哲学”一词的来源是两个希腊单词“philo”和“sophia”,字面意思是对智慧的热爱。I think it would be fair to say that for many Greek philosophers, the pursuit of wisdom was the be all and end all of philosophy

Perhaps no ancient Greek philosopher was more assiduous in his pursuit of wisdom Socrates. He launched a life-long quest for wisdom after being told by the Oracle at Delphi that he was the wisest man in Athens. He couldn’t for the life of him see how the Oracle could be right since even though he hungered for wisdom, he knew he didn’t have it. Of course, there were lots of people in Athens whodidregard themselves as wise. And Socrates thought to himself, “Surely, they must really be wise – at any rate, wiser than me.” So in the role of a student, eager to learn from his superiors, he set out to question the wise men of Athens. But he quickly discovered that despite the fact they all professed to be wise, none of them really were. Most of them didn’t actually know anything at all. And that helped Socrates to finally understand what the Oracle had meant. At least he, Socrates, knew one thing -- that he wasn’t wise. That alone gave him a leg up on the self-declared wise men.

To be sure, that’s a paradoxical kind of wisdom. It suggests that being wise is a matter of knowing what you don’t know. But look, I know that although I have my hopes and hunches, I don’t really know who will win the next presidential election. Surely that’s not enough to make me wise. I wouldn’t want to deny that knowing what you don’t know can be the beginning of wisdom. But I rather seriously doubt that any such thing could be the whole of wisdom.

事实上,我不认为苏格拉底真的想把智慧等同于对未知事物的知识。不完全是。我认为他真正想说的是一种认知上的谦逊。如果你傲慢地高估了自己的信念和判断的力量,你就不可能是明智的。你需要谦虚地倾听和学习,给予别人应有的评价。

Am I 100% sure that that’s what Socrates has in mind? No, not at all. There is, by the way, is a long tradition inChristianity从谦逊的角度思考智慧。骄傲来,羞耻也来;谦卑却有智慧。这是谚语11:3。根据基督教的说法,所有的智慧最终都来自上帝。人类成为智者的方法是与上帝的意志相协调。傲慢和骄傲使我们想用纯粹的人类智慧来代替真正的智慧。亚当和夏娃就是这么做的。

取而代之的是谦逊,包括认知上的谦逊,当然是一件好事。我不怀疑这点。但在我看来,智慧不仅仅是谦逊。谦逊是一种消极的美德;它告诉你什么不能做。智慧是一种积极的美德;它告诉你如何生活,如何表现,如何看待事物。亚里士多德认为,这里。对亚里士多德来说,智慧包含一种诀窍,一种肯定的技能。不是一种狭隘的技能——比如篮球技能或营销技能——而是一种广泛的技能,比如生活技能,比如做决定和选择,或者调节你的情绪反应,这些都是具有独特人类生活特征的事情。 This is what Aristotle called practical wisdom or “Phronesis” to use a fancy Greek word.

在我看来,亚里士多德的基本观点有些地方是正确的。明智的人是那些知道事情——重要的事情——并能把这些知识很好地运用到实践中的人。但我并不完全清楚,究竟有什么是聪明人知道而我们这些笨蛋却不知道的。是否有一种变得聪明的公式,那种可以写在书里并成为系统研究对象的东西?如果有这样一个公式,我还没见过,希望有人能把它写下来,一劳永逸,这样我们就可以研究它,然后解决它。但是,正如我所怀疑的那样,如果没有一个公式可以概括智慧的内涵,那么一个人如何才能成为智者就有点神秘了。我们真的能以系统的方式教育人们智慧吗?或者这只是一种经历带来的东西。但是什么样的体验呢?我们能提前说你需要做什么或经历什么才能变得明智吗?

These are, I think, all good questions all. And I very much hope our guest -- Valerie Tiberius, author ofThe Reflective Life: Living Wisely With Our Limits – can help us find some answers. It would be nice to have your help too. So why don’t you give us a listen, and then give us a call, or write us an e-mail or leave a comment at this blog.


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Comments(16)


Guest's picture

Guest

Saturday, September 24, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

Listening to your program on

Listening to your program on knowledge. Very frustrating. I decided in my early 20s that PEOPLE were more important than THINGS. I learned about people mostly through fiction.
Another 60 years has just added and added to that idea. That and a built in aversion to the kind of nonsense constantly in front of us through adverstigin.

mirugai's picture

mirugai

Saturday, September 24, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

MEDITATION AND PRAYER

MEDITATION AND PRAYER
每天早上冥想,以一个清晰的精神状态开始意识的时刻。看看你的大脑在最不活跃的状态下是什么样子的。
每天晚上祈祷。祈祷只是承认在我们自己的意识之外还有意识,人们可以参考它来更好地理解事物。它没有?如果它是我们创造或想象的外部意识,无论在方法论上还是认识论上都无关紧要。

Guest's picture

Guest

Saturday, September 24, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

Wisdom is one of those

Wisdom is one of those illusive quantities, similar in character to the metaphysical concepts of illumination and enlightenment; satori; nirvana and so on. Socrates was right on track in saying that he knew he was not a wise man because when we pretend to that throne; claim the virtues of knowingness, all such virtue vaporizes leaving us frustrated, confused, disappointed. I have written some things regarding life development, using my own OEO formula, mentioned in some comments left on this blog*.
My list of wisemen and women is short and includes Samuel L. Clemens, Ayn Rand and perhaps a dozen others.
The criteria I use are probably too generous, but, they work for me.
(OEO=Observations, Experiences and Opinions)

Guest's picture

Guest

Saturday, September 24, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

TRUTH

TRUTH
KNOWLEDGE IS THOUGHT
EDUCATION INCREASES THOUGHT
WISDOM IS TRUTH
ENLIGHTENMENT REDUCES THOUGHT
TO A SINGLE SIMPLE TRUTH
ONENESS OR EQUALITY
THE SINGLE SIMPLE
WISDOM OR
TRUTH
=
MJA

Guest's picture

Guest

Sunday, September 25, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

There is a formula Ken,

There is a formula Ken, wisdom can be written as well as spoken.
Unfortunately for most the truth cannot be read nor heard.
Here, I'll write it again:
=
MJA

Guest's picture

Guest

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

There is practical reasoning

There is practical reasoning of the tangible, and perhaps practical wisdom is the practical reasoning of the intangible. And that practiced wisdom is also the balance of the two, and the action or pause required in balance.

Guest's picture

Guest

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

I just listened to this show

我刚在放学回家的车里听了这个节目。我不得不说,我对结尾对基督徒的评论感到非常失望、侮辱和震惊。你说智慧的一部分是谦逊,但你表现出了谦逊的缺失。这个话题也需要聪明的人来谈论,而我发现你缺乏这方面的知识。一名男子打来电话,说基督徒祈祷智慧就算不是疯了,也是错误的。他缺乏智慧,这让他相信,基督教徒总是有上帝在和他们说话,我们只是听从头脑中某个声音的指示。(这几乎就是他的原话。)节目主持人刚刚同意了他们的观点。我不记得确切的措辞了,但他们说基督徒为智慧祈祷是疯狂的,是错误的。我可以提个建议吗? If you are to comment on a topic that you have limited knowledge on and no experience with, it would be WISE to not comment at all. You should not make accusations or assume to know how another culture practices, or even how their practices work, unless you have verifiable knowledge on it. It would also be WISE to humble yourself to say you do not have a knowledge base in a subject instead of letting your prejudices run your mouth. I just began my Elementary Philosophy class this week and from what I've learned thus far has increased my wisdom base and knowledge about this study than it seems it has you in your whole career. I hope you take to heart what I am writing and know that I was so interested in what your response would be to that man's statement, but was completely disappointed in your inadequate response. Even more, you mentioned earlier in your show the significance of how the bible views wisdom. I suppose that makes you a bit hypocritical as well... I pray that God helps you to gain the wisdom to see the errors in this matter. Amen.

Guest's picture

Guest

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

"It's not what you don't know

"It's not what you don't know that gets you in the most trouble; it's what you know for sure, that isn't so."
People have a tremendous capacity to fool themselves. Those truth seekers who -- for whatever reasons -- have the ego strength to question their own motives and conclusions, usually are humbled by just how much they don't, or can't, know for sure. This can spur them to great heights of careful, more objective scholarship. Thus, we often find that scholars who succeed in probing beyond the obvious or superficial are often remarkably humble.
Tragically, wisdom born of being thus humbled, usually does not win the day politically. Especially in the face of a more visually energetic, manufactured certitude. Left or Right, the masses are drawn to certitude. Part of societal accumulated wisdom is to let a polarity develop among the masses, keep the sides in balance, and arrange for the pendulum to swing. This serves as instruction for the newest batch of would be wise people. The most the already wise people can hope to achieve, is to dampen the momentum a little as the pendulum swings.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of mass democracy is not that it produces good decisions, but that it saves us from larger pendulum swings that involve more bloodshed over generations.
Wisdom born of seeing our tendencies to fool ourselves, will always be a rare gift. Most people would find such an experience devastating and debilitating. What they want is enough certitude to face the day. "Still a man he hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest."

Guest's picture

Guest

Thursday, September 29, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

Isn't wisdom a condition

Isn't wisdom a condition anyone can find themselves operating from at different times. I think we find the wisest to be people who often operate from this spot. I am sometimes acting, feeling and or thinking wisely. Sometimes not. As I age I think more of my positions become wiser. I also would say that arriving at ever greater wisdom is a function of the following. I have learned to operate as though I know what I am talking about with many different issues, but have also learned to temper the intensity of my belief in my own opinion with say, a 15% reservation in that degree of belief; due to the fact that I could just be wrong....................again. I think this technique or practice covers many areas and ways of thinking about things. It tends to include others opinions as a resource as well as looking for other sources of information than my standard ones. I think that it also tends show me that it is not my opinion as the gold standard in any situation that is most important although I feel free to argue that way; it is the process of defining and redefining issues and answers in an unending life of ideas. There is no stopping place, nothing is finally "answered". There is and should always be more to be said.

Guest's picture

Guest

Thursday, September 29, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

Kudos to all commenters!

Kudos to all commenters! Whether I agree or no, it is good to read OEOs*. Loved Mr. Wain's quotation of Simon and Garfunkle. And therein lies a large part of who we are---and who we want to BE. All of this keeps us on our toes. And that, is the important thing---seems to me.
(*Observations, Experiences and Opinions)

Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Saturday, October 1, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

Well, well, well...the

Well, well, well...the cauldron has been stirred and the witches are all askew. Once again,gentlemen, you have chosen a topic that inflames both theologian and philosopher*.. As Van Pelt has noted, it does not matter what any of us believe, espouse and/or write. There are some rights and wrongs---of this I am fairly certain. Further, affiant sayeth not...Goin' back to university-when I die.
(*scientists are just amused---because they know better, but, do they? How fast is light anyway? If it were slower, would that help us cure cancer? Just a thought---those haunt me a lot these days.)

Guest's picture

Guest

Saturday, October 1, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

To me, wisdom means inner

对我来说,智慧意味着内在的引导、内在的知识和内在的深度。谢谢你的分享。

Guest's picture

Guest

Saturday, October 1, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

"... and the wisdom to know

"... and the wisdom to know the difference." Isn't it the sum of experience and past learning being applied to a new situation? Obviously not a question of "facts" which are always open to interpretation anyway; the term "life lessons" come to mind. And is it on a spectrum the opposite of which is "common sense," which could be defined as a cultural norm of reaction to a stimulus. Is wisdom cross-cultural? I know some wisdom can be said to spring from the mouths of many much younger and less experienced than I; their inter-personal intelligence is clearly higher and guides their interactions "wisely."

Guest's picture

Guest

Sunday, October 2, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

Insight

Insight
The fountain of wisdom springs from One's true self.
它无处不在,无处不在。
难道你没有用孩子的眼光去看吗?
What about a sparkle on a river that flows by?
Which Way does it go?
Which Way are you going?
Have you not gazed upon the ocean and saw the glimmer of your own self?
你从没在森林里站过,跟着树摇摆吗?
你从来没有在看星星的时候看到过自己眼睛的微光吗?
Surely you can see,
Can you see?
Yourself?
=

Guest's picture

Guest

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 -- 5:00 PM

John and Ken,

John and Ken,
我在学校的时候拿到了哲学D !真有意思,十年过去了,我现在这么喜欢你的节目。我想说,我成绩不好是“反抗”老师观点的结果,但事实是,当时我更在乎嘘声和女生。优先权? !好吧,这就是我的观点:在我的生活中,我发现没有什么比自律更能让我们过上美好的生活了。这是智慧的基础。谢谢你的建议。
Sincerely,
D-

Guest's picture

Guest

Sunday, April 15, 2012 -- 5:00 PM

This blog is very interesting

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