Wisdom

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Wisdom

Words marked with an asterisk (*) are defined at the end of the essay. Click on them to see the definition. Use Back Button to return to the essay.

Introduction

In reading about wise people, such as the Old Testament King Solomon, we recognize wise decisions as wise. We would all like to be wise (and therefore capable and respected). I hope you have wisdom as one of your Life-Goals!

This essay defines wisdom, and discusses the various elements that when taken together tend to produce a wise person or wise decisions and actions.

Thi s site contains a collection of essays and sayings that present wisdom. As you read them, try to pick out those parts that are examples of the elements of wisdom presented in THIS essay. I invite your comment or input.

Definition of Wisdom

What is "wise"? From the Random House College Dictionary: "knowledge of what is true or right coupled with good judgment."

The Rule of Wisdom, according to Mr. Andrews: "A wise judgment, action, or decision is one that brings the greatest good to the greatest number, both in the short run and in the long run, while at the same time thwarting* evil intentions and minimizing negative outcomes."

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Characteristics of a Wise Person

What are the characteristics of a wise person? What should one cultivate* in order to become wise? The contents at the top of this page lists them. No conclusion as to relative importance should be drawn from the order they are presented. Below I present discussions of these major characteristics that contribute to wisdom. This is important: As you grow in any one of these areas, that growth helps you grow in the other areas. They all interact.

The wise person has a lot of Knowledge

(1) Facts

These are things that have been recorded and made available so that others can learn about things and life vicariously*, thereby saving a great deal of time in the process of becoming knowledgeable about the world. You learn these in a class, or in self-study, such as reading.

(2) Experience

Experience provides "facts" that are too numerous and too subtle to be recorded as a set of facts to be learned. This is why teachers and other adults encourage you to have lots of actual real-life experiences.

(3) Knowing People

How they think, what motivates them, and how they react. This is included in a special area of knowledge and study called psychology. It can be learned from a psychology class, talking with older and more experienced people, reading on our own, and thinking while using Empathy*, experience, and facts.

(4) Empathy*

Knowing how other people feel, by experiencing their feelings within you.

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The wise person has a lot of Intelligence

There are many different types of intelligence. The types required for wisdom include:

  • The ability to make connections between components* of knowledge.
  • The ability to reach logical conclusions. To think logically.
  • The ability to make projections* based on knowledge and on past performance.
  • The ability to understand complicated ideas and ideals.
  • The ability to apply insights* and knowledge gained in one situation to another but different situation.
  • The ability to discern* the needs and motivations behind peoples' beliefs and actions.
  • The ability to find the right balance that maximizes the overall good.
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The wise person has A Good Philosophy

A philosophy is a set of rules you use to guide your life. They are useful for guiding your thinking. There can be good philosophies and bad philosophies.

IMPORTANT! A good philosophy is one that attempts to strike a balance between what is good for one's self, for other individuals, and for society. Anytime the balance gets distorted* towards any one of the three, an unwise decision is more likely. See below for 4 examples of unbalanced philosophies.

  • Selfish The totally selfish person is one whose philosophy says, "Me first, and to hell with the rest of you." In the extreme this can lead to the cruelest of criminal behavior.
  • Liberal The position says that the rights of the individual are more important than the rights of society (forgetting that "society" is made up of other individuals). This can manifest itself in situations where truly sick and dangerous persons are released from custody solely on a technicality. (It happens all the time!)
  • Liberal The position that holds that the "certain" members of society are more important than "others" that make up that society. Redistribution of wealth: Someone (government) decides who to take money from and who to give it to. Neglects the overall negative impact upon society.
  • Communist This philosophy says that individuals are subordinate* to society, and can therefore be sacrificed for the good of society (forgetting that society is made of individuals). "The end justifies the means," says that it is OK to do any evil, if it leads to good. The Stalin purge* (where he murdered large numbers of citizens) comes to mind.

The Christian religion and most world religions are excellent philosophies, as they usually provide a balanced approach.

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The wise person Looks for the Core Issue(s) Involved in the Case at Hand.

A wise person tries to identify and to analyze the core issue(s) involved in the situation at hand, and come up with the best solution for all involved. ("What is REALLY going on here?" or "What are the MAIN issues?") At first these may not be obvious. As the problem is explored, the wise person is alert for clues that may identify the core issues, hidden agendas, etc.

The wise person Helps Everyone Gain Understanding

The wise person tries to educate the people involved. He knows that if they understand the underlying causes and solutions, they are more likely to make the solutions work. What good would wisdom be if it did not lead to changes for the good?

The wise person Does Reality Testing

Reality testing is an internal "self-checking" mechanism*. This is a sophisticated idea!

General Comments

Without a way to check one's thought processes, a person is likely to believe he has made a wise decision, when he has not. Reality testing is an active mechanism that should be continually used to test the validity* of ideas or understanding. It is the first line of defense against acting upon impulse, illogical thinking, or mistaken data or facts.

How does one do reality testing? Reality testing CANNOT be done without observing reality - that is what can be proven to be real. First there must be a mind set* that it is possible that you can make a mistake in your thinking, and that in the case at hand that you might have. Given that position, it then becomes possible for you to challenge your own thinking. In fact, you want to do so.

Consistency

An important test for reality is looking for consistency* between your present thinking and what you already know about a situation or person (the history). Does your idea or view match what has happened in the past and in similar situations? The first sign of inconsistency is a warning sign, and should cause you to dig deeper into the questions of consistency, and into your own present thinking. By "consistency" I mean consistency between your own present thinking, and the present and past observed behavior of the person, or components of the situation. (OBJECTIVELY* observed behavior is self-proved and therefore the behavior is a reality. Assumptions about motivation that caused the behavior are not reality.) The need to guard against looking for consistency between your own self-generated views of the other person or situation must be strongly stressed. Concentrate* on consistency between your new present thinking and past and present observations of behavior.

A second method of reality testing is to deliberately* set about trying to prove your present thinking is wrong. This is not a natural thing to do. It takes effort and discipline. Often all kinds of "evidence" can be found to support the belief you are "right", even when you are not. But it only takes one piece of evidence to prove you are wrong. If you are motivated to be correct, then you should find it easy to look for errors in your own thinking. It becomes easy to look for evidence to prove you are wrong.

The wise person does NOT do Egocentric Thinking

Egocentric Thinking* is bad because it is the opposite of Reality Testing. It is not egotistical thinking*. The egocentric person believes that he, and only he, has the only truth! If you disagree with him, then you are, by (his) definition, wrong! When presented with evidence countering* his thinking, he will deny, ignore, or discount* what you say, even if you have presented a correct and solid argument. It is bad because it prevents the person from knowing the real truth.

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The wise person has Self-Discipline

Self-Discipline means: To be able to consistently do what should be done, without anyone making you do it. It does not come naturally. We have to learn to do it.

Without self-discipline, all the other characteristics are not applied or are applied haphazardly*, resulting in unreliable decisions. This is particularly true when it comes to reality testing. Reality testing requires a great deal of self-discipline, as it seems to be counter to "human nature".

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Note: "Wise" people do not always make wise decisions or act wisely.
Go to List of Documents about wisdom.

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Vocabulary (as used in this essay)

components

Parts of a bigger thing or body of information.

concentrate

Focus your thinking

consistency

Not contradicting each other

countering

Arguing against

cultivate

To grow.

deliberately

"On purpose."

discern

To perceive by the sight or some other sense, or by the intellect.

discount

To give a lower value than its true value.

distorted

To change the meaning of something said or written.

egocentric

To habitually believe that your ideas are the absolute truth about the world, a thing, or a person.

egotistical

Boastful

empathy

Knowing how other people feel, by experiencing their feelings within you.

haphazardly

Randomly. Without thought or organization.

insights

An understanding of something or someone, usually gained by careful thought or study.

mechanism

How something comes to be. How something works.

mind set

A mental bias. A belief about something or someone before actually learning about it or them.

objectively

Without involving emotions. An honest look.

projection

To make an assumption about some other situation, or about the future, based on observations of something real.

purge

To totally get rid of a thing or a group of people.

subordinate

Being in a lessor position of authority or importance.

thwarting

To interfere with something or someone, totally preventing an intended result.

validity

The truth of an idea or interpretation.

vicariously

To live through the experiences of other people, without you doing the thing. To have a mental sense of what other people have experienced, but you have not. Humans have the wonderful ability to learn vicariously from the work or thought of other people.
 
File: wisdom.htm
Date: 4 Aug '03
By: Mr. Andrews