Tuesday, February 14, 2012

What is wisdom? - Ten Different Views

What is wisdom? • Online dictionary: 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 such experience, knowledge, and good judgment. • Will Durant: total perspective, seeing an object, event, or idea in all its pertinent relationships. Spinoza defined wisdom as seeing things sub specie eternitatis, in view of eternity; I suggest defining it as seeing things sub specie totius, in view of the whole. • Wikipedia: Wisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions (the "passions") so that universal principles, reason and knowledge prevail to determine one's actions. Wisdom is also the comprehension of what is true or right coupled with optimum judgment as to action. Synonyms include: sagacity, discernment, or insight. • Peter Russell: Its essence is discernment. Discernment of right from wrong. Helpful from harmful. Truth from delusion. • Charles Spurgeon: Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. • J. I. Packer: Wisdom is the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it. Wisdom is, in fact, the practical side of moral goodness. As such, it is found in its fulness only in God. He alone is naturally and entirely and invariable wise. • John Piper: Wisdom is the practical knowledge of how to attain that happiness. Therefore, wisdom is hearing and doing the Word of God. In the Biblical sense, wisdom is the "ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding" • Job: “The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom” (Job 28:28) • Psalmist: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). • Paul: Christ is the wisdom of God(1Co 1:24,30). Wisdom consists of righteousness, holiness, and redemption. In Jesus Christ are ‘hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge.’ (Col 2:3) What do you think?

1 comment:

dan said...

i would say...
wisdom is ability to understand expression