WHAT IS WISDOM?

[Golden_Angel_K]

By Dr. Robert I. Winer


Let's start with a dictionary definition:

"Wisdom is knowledge and good judgment based on experience; being wise. 2. wise conduct; wise words. 3. scholarly knowledge."

It seems to me that the dictionary's authors have relied upon an extraverted measure of wisdom based upon what can be known about another's thoughts and actions. However, a person's wisdom need not always to be seen for it to be present in significant measure. How, then, can one approach such an extremely complicated and ephemeral state such as wisdom?

One approach bases itself upon the fact that any concept which has a significant unknown aspect can be approached through antinomies -- the presentation of two sides which appear to be opposition with each other. When one defines the phenomenon of wisdom solely by measurable, earthly standards only one pole is used -- the material pole and the other dimension -- the spirtual pole, or what we might call the "its unknown dimension" that is present in any wise action whether it be in word or deed -- is ignored. While a one-sided definition may work in some situation, in others it distorts the reality of the situation. It is this "unknown dimension" of wisdom, what we might also call its introverted side, that I wish to emphasize now.

I might say without much risk of over-stating my case that the missing dimension in Western life is the acceptance that balanced wisdom, the term I am using to express wisdom that includes the above two poles, requires a transaction with wisdom's opposites, that is, its antinomian nature. I have presented five antinomies of wisdom for you to consider:

Earthly (material / instinctual / lumen naturae) and Spiritual (its unknown aspects / archetypal / lumen dei)
Individual and Collective
Knowledge and Relationship
Wisdom and Foolishness
Good and Evil

Traditional Judeo-Christian religion speaks much about wisdom, the chief text being embodied in the book of Proverbs, which I conside to be the "primer" on helping one understand wisdom's unknown pole. One cannot go very far in their understanding or growth in wisdom if they completely disregard a statements in Proverbs like: "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 1:6). Whether one is religious or not, an understanding of and a non-denigrating attitude -- toward wisdom's unknown pole demands an serious exploration of a relationship with the imago dei, for how else can one fully grasp that in the Scriptures, wisdom is personified or embodied. Through personification we can relationally embrace wisdom rather than it being solely an abstract knowledge or be left as only a "definable goal." It is my opinion that wisdom can be embraced and loved only when it is personified. One might call this "the engaging wisdom's heat" to distinguish it from the cooler aspects of embracing wisdom only as concept.

The quest for balanced wisdom is an elusive thing, much like going toward a destination to which one never arrives. Instead of this making one impatient, I encourage you to consider that all noble things are difficult, costly, and time-consuming. Furthermore, unlike the usual trips we take in life, wisdom's path often diverts us from our conscious intention; we find ourselves in unknown and disorienting places. These two aspects of the pursuit of wisdom are perceived intuitively as the tension between knowing that the path leads to greater connectedness and increase yet at the same time deconstruction and lack of definiteness. Without this uncomfortableness, inherent in its pursuit, wisdom cannot be manifested, remaining dead, or perhaps inert.

The pursuit of wisdom is, in part, a battle of the heart in which the pursuit of pleasure and lessening of discomfort, pain, or obligation continually pull us away from engaging its unknown pole. The Scripture, "out of the heart flows the issues of life," just touches the depths of such a confrontation. Concretely, the "issue of life" is blood without which there can be no further life or only a life that is stagnant. I encourage you to make the pursuit of wisdom as precious to you as your own blood and the blood of others.