Can a kid be wise? Can a young adult be wise? Would you only call and old person wise? Are all old people wise?
I've been pondering this. Thoughts?
What is wisdom? And who would you call wise, and why?
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@DBlaze
Wisdom is subjective to the situation under discussion. When sailing an experienced sea captain may behave wisely while a lawyer may not be but the same sea captain may not make very wise decisions in a court of law while the lawyer is more likely to.
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@secularmerlin
If you had a problem with life in general, who would you trust?
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@DBlaze
That is a little vague. If my answer is to be equally vague I wpuld be forced to say "someone".
Thou shalt proclaim wisdom, that understanding may be obedient to thee.
For she is on lofty eminences, and stands in the midst of the ways.
For she sits by the gates of princes, and sings in the entrances, saying,
You, O men, I exhort; and utter my voice to the sons of men.
O ye simple, understand subtlety, and ye that are untaught, imbibe knowledge.
Hearken to me; for I will speak solemn truths; and will produce right sayings from my lips.
For my throat shall meditate truth; and false lips are an abomination before me.
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing in them wrong or perverse.
They are all evident to those that understand, and right to those that find knowledge.
Receive instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than tried gold.
For wisdom is better than precious stones; and no valuable substance is of equal worth with it.
I wisdom have dwelt with counsel and knowledge, and I have called upon understanding.
The fear of the Lord hates unrighteousness, and insolence, and pride, and the ways of wicked men; and I hate the perverse ways of bad men.
Counsel and safety are mine; prudence is mine, and strength is mine.
By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
By me nobles become great, and monarchs by me rule over the earth.
I love those that love me; and they that seek me shall find me.
Wealth and glory belong to me; yea, abundant possessions and righteousness.
It is better to have my fruit than to have gold and precious stones; and my produce is better than choice silver.
I walk in ways of righteousness, and am conversant with the paths of judgment;
that I may divide substance to them that love me, and may fill their treasures with good things. If I declare to you the things that daily happen, I will remember also to recount the things of old.
The Lord made me the beginning of his ways for his works.
He established me before time was in the beginning, before he made the earth:
Even before he made the depths; before the fountains of water came forth:
before the mountains were settled, and before all hills, he begets me.
The Lord made countries and uninhabited tracks, and the highest inhabited parts of the world.
When he prepared the heaven, I was present with him; and when he prepared his throne upon the winds:
and when he strengthened the clouds above; and when he secured the fountains of the earth:
And when he strengthened the foundations of the earth:
I was by him, suiting myself to him, I was that wherein he took delight; and daily I rejoiced in his presence continually.
For he rejoiced when he had completed the world, and rejoiced among the children of men.
Now then, my son, hear me: blessed is the man who shall hearken to me, and the mortal who shall keep my ways;
watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my entrances.
For my outgoings are the outgoings of life, and in them is prepared favour from the Lord.
But they that sin against me act wickedly against their own souls: and they that hate me love death.
I also am mortal, like everyone else,
a descendant of the first-formed child of earth;
and in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh,
within the period of ten months, compacted with blood,
from the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage.
And when I was born, I began to breathe the common air,
and fell upon the kindred earth;
my first sound was a cry, as is true of all.
I was nursed with care in swaddling cloths.
For no king has had a different beginning of existence;
there is for all one entrance into life, and one way out.
Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me;
I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepters and thrones,
and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her.
Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem,
because all gold is but a little sand in her sight,
and silver will be accounted as clay before her.
I loved her more than health and beauty,
and I chose to have her rather than light,
because her radiance never ceases.
All good things came to me along with her,
and in her hands uncounted wealth.
I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom leads them;
but I did not know that she was their mother.
I learned without guile and I impart without grudging;
I do not hide her wealth,
for it is an unfailing treasure for mortals;
those who get it obtain friendship with God,
commended for the gifts that come from instruction.
May God grant me to speak with judgment,
and to have thoughts worthy of what I have received;
for he is the guide even of wisdom
and the corrector of the wise.
For both we and our words are in his hand,
as are all understanding and skill in crafts.
For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists,
to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements;
the beginning and end and middle of times,
the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,
the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,
the natures of animals and the tempers of wild animals,
the powers of spirits and the thoughts of human beings,
the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots;
I learned both what is secret and what is manifest,
for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.
There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle,
mobile, clear, unpolluted,
distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,
irresistible, beneficent, humane,
steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,
all-powerful, overseeing all,
and penetrating through all spirits
that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle.
For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;
because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.
For she is a breath of the power of God,
and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.
For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.
Although she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God, and prophets;
For God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.
She is more beautiful than the sun,
and excels every constellation of the stars.
Compared with the light she is found to be superior,
for it is succeeded by the night,
but against wisdom evil does not prevail
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@DBlaze
Wisdom is the sensible application of knowledge.
Decision making with consideration for consequences.
Looking before you leap.
Otherwise it will end in tears or worse, no matter how old you are.
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@secularmerlin
You can't even answer a simple fucking question that wants your opinion. Maybe just not post once in a while if you can't handle the questions.
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@DBlaze
Can a kid be wise?
Yes
Can a young adult be wise?
Yes
Would you only call and old person wise?
No
Are all old people wise?
Generalizations are often untrue. So no.
Wisdom is knowledge. If a kid is knowledgeable about Fortnite then they have wisdom. Sure you can argue being knowledgeable about Fortnite is not a lot but that wasn't what you asked.
Intellect is me looking through your diary to know your secrets.
Intelligence is me remembering them and using them well.
Wisdom is me not looking in your diary because your secrets are not necessarily going to be things I want to know or have to pretend I don't know.
Patience is waiting for the next bus.
Preparedness is either making it to the bus early or already positioning myself ready for the next-best travel route and means assuming I'd miss the bus even if I could have made it on time.
Wisdom is ringing up my friend, explaining that I just missed my bus and getting a ride for free or at a very low cost in exchange for being a great ally.
Confidence is me betting big while I'm ahead in a poker game.
Humility is me betting small while I'm ahead in any game.
Wisdom is me betting what I think you would call if you have less, fold to if you have equal or slightly better and raise if you truly do have better (in a poker game).
-->Polytheist-Witch
Wisdom is subjective to the situation under discussion. When sailing an experienced sea captain may behave wisely while a lawyer may not be but the same sea captain may not make very wise decisions in a court of law while the lawyer is more likely to.
This was my original aanswer. Quite clearly it precludes the idea of generic wisdom in favor of wisdom specific to a situation. Unless I know what my specific situation is in this hypothetical I am unsure whom I would go to. Someone I suppose.
I hope that clears up my position but feel free to ask for further clarification.
Also it is gettinh tedious to tespond to you with your block in place if you want to have any discussion with me in the future it may behoove you to remove it.
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@zedvictor4
Yes, but consideration of consequences takes experience, knowledge, and probably someone that has lived a long time that has more of a chance of dealing with one or more situations like that. I know I have a lot more experience now that I am older, because my beliefs have changed quite a bit since I was young and naive. But then again..... I may never actually be wise.
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@DBlaze
I don't think that there is a universal standard for wisdom.
You're probably as wise as you need to be.
And too much wisdom can be a little overbearing at times.
Wisdom is gaining enough knowledge to realize that you know nothing.
Blamonkey is pretty wise on stuff. He cites his sources, which is nice. I think I'm smart, I don't know if I am actually.
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@TwoMan
I've heard that before.... the leader of a group session said it in AA, but he was a hypocrite and a moron. He made me write a paper on what I thought wisdom was...
Here is what I wrote:
Wisdom is measured subjectively, and cannot really beconfirmed or denied by a third person, or the person in question. Some may believe a person is wise, and somemay not feel the same way about that same person. I think it takes wisdom to recognize wisdom,as well as a good amount of respect for the individual that is claimed to bewise.
So, here is what I believe wisdom means base on what I haveread and observed.
Does wisdom require an awesome memory? It does. Does wisdom require intelligence? It does. Does an awesome memoryhave a strong correlation with intelligence, I believe it does, but the two arenot mutually exclusive. Does wisdomrequire common sense critical thinking? It does. Does wisdom requireexperience? It does. A person with theability to become wise learns not only from their mistakes, but from everythingthey do and see, everything theyencounter on a daily basis, minute by minute, constantly observing and takingmental notes (most of the time, subconsciously). After a lot of time spent on this earthpeople tend to acquire/gain “experience”. I believe that all four of these things (memory, intelligence,experience, and common sense/critical thinking) must exist for a person to beeffectively “wise”. That is why we go tosomeone we believe is “wise” for advice. We think because they have experience, they may be able to recognize thecause and effect of certain actions, and suggest alternatives to reduce thechances of an unfavorable outcome.
The common sense/critical thinking aspect is the ability tobreak a situation, a story, a process, a proposal, a conclusion…etc. down intosmaller parts to deem if it is reasonable, believable, rational, or theantagonist.
A wise person is able to determine the possible outcomes ofdifferent situations based on all available information, and is able to changethe prediction if different variables thrown in the mix. These outcomes are based on the combinationof the experience/intelligence/common sense critical thinking and observationsthat a “wise” person has witnessed in their lifespan, this then leads to goodjudgement.
So, here is what I believe wisdom means base on what I haveread and observed.
Does wisdom require an awesome memory? It does. Does wisdom require intelligence? It does. Does an awesome memoryhave a strong correlation with intelligence, I believe it does, but the two arenot mutually exclusive. Does wisdomrequire common sense critical thinking? It does. Does wisdom requireexperience? It does. A person with theability to become wise learns not only from their mistakes, but from everythingthey do and see, everything theyencounter on a daily basis, minute by minute, constantly observing and takingmental notes (most of the time, subconsciously). After a lot of time spent on this earthpeople tend to acquire/gain “experience”. I believe that all four of these things (memory, intelligence,experience, and common sense/critical thinking) must exist for a person to beeffectively “wise”. That is why we go tosomeone we believe is “wise” for advice. We think because they have experience, they may be able to recognize thecause and effect of certain actions, and suggest alternatives to reduce thechances of an unfavorable outcome.
The common sense/critical thinking aspect is the ability tobreak a situation, a story, a process, a proposal, a conclusion…etc. down intosmaller parts to deem if it is reasonable, believable, rational, or theantagonist.
A wise person is able to determine the possible outcomes ofdifferent situations based on all available information, and is able to changethe prediction if different variables thrown in the mix. These outcomes are based on the combinationof the experience/intelligence/common sense critical thinking and observationsthat a “wise” person has witnessed in their lifespan, this then leads to goodjudgement.
After he read the above, he asked me i where I got it from? Like I had plagiarized it, then he looked at me with a smirk and said " Wisdom is gaining enough knowledge to realize that you know nothing," I call BS. My Grandfather was wise as shit. At least that is what I think.
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@DBlaze
All well said. My comment was meant to be amusing for a philosophy forum, not as an actual definition. For that I would probably say that wisdom is the ability to apply acquired knowledge to a given situation that improves the likelihood of a preferred outcome. Your definition looks to be a much more detailed way of saying something similar to that.
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@TwoMan
Or my definition is just a complete ramble. Funny you said your comment was meant to be amusing. The guy that ran the clinic (AA clinic) was dead serious when he said it.