The Question Posed In A Philosophy Class That Became My Prism For The World
Maybe it could change your life too.
I recently enrolled in a philosophy class with a degree of ambivalence, unsure if age-old teachings could impact my life. Our first session did little to dispel my concerns until the lecturer posed a seemingly simple question for us to consider:
“What would a wise person do?”
This stopped me in my tracks. I realised that this question provides a way forward in almost any situation. It filters out impetuousness and selfishness, grounding decision-making in less emotional concepts like truth, knowledge, and justice. At first, this seemed high minded, but I quickly recognised that viewing situations through this prism almost always leads to better decisions for us as individuals.
Think about the applications: A wise person understands energy and uses it judiciously. A wise person is awake, living in the present, not the past or the future. A wise person uses reason in decision making and action. A wise person sees beauty in everything.
I became obsessed with the concept, spending the next week applying it to every situation that arose. Surprisingly, the wisdom litmus test applied not just to my external world but even more powerfully to my inner world that is often ruled by unchecked thought patterns and unchallenged beliefs.
What is wisdom?
The power of this question lies in understanding the nature of wisdom. Religion, psychology, and education all provide their own definitions, but these are often diluted by dogma.
For me, Lao Tzu said it best:
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”
In Metaphysics Aristotle defined wisdom as understanding why things are a certain way (causality) which is deeper than merely knowing things are a certain way. Today, society puts a high value on knowing; knowledge is seen as power. Understanding the “why” is trickier and often less visible than the acquisition of knowledge.
More recently, Robert I Sutton and Andrew Hargadon defined an “attitude of wisdom” as “acting with knowledge while doubting what one knows”. I like this definition, which is aligned with Socratic Wisdom, because it implies humility.
For me, this suggests that I don’t have to arrive at a correct answer but that asking the question will move me closer to the truth. I have explored this in Five Reasons to Never Stop Asking “Why?”
The impact that seeking wisdom had on my life
Another useful philosophical concept is pausing to make space. Asking the wise person question gives me space, providing the stillness and reflection required to avoid behaving automatically. It prevents instinctive and often destructive reactions based on past conditioning and hurts. It anchors me in the present.
The Sankhya school of Hinduism believes there are three types of energy known as gunas: Tamas (dullness/inertia/negativity), Rajas (passion/activity) and Sattva (harmony/calmness/peace). The key is to find a balance of the three.
I am predominately rajasic, which has some positive aspects. I run headlong into life and I’m achievement orientated, passionate and creative. The shadow side is that I easily become physically and emotionally overwhelmed by my overthinking, which leads to anxiety and self-absorption.
Understanding the three types of energies has encouraged me to seek more tamasic energy for rest and replenishment and increased sattvic energy (considered the highest form) for calmness and clarity.
Asking the wise person question has made me aware of how often my energy is spent reflecting on and worrying about situations I cannot change. It has also encouraged me to make decisions and act based on reason rather than emotion, which is a danger when you have a busy, cluttered mind.
Acceptance is often seen as a passive act, a relinquishing of control, but wise people accept the aspects of their life beyond their influence, making space for creative ways to grow. This is what I now strive to do.
Searching for wisdom has slowed me down, which allows me to see the beauty that can be lost in the blur of life. For someone whose life as a writer is cerebral, it is affirming to look for beauty in every day, in a flower, in a child, in my beloved dog. Pausing reveals not just sensory beauty, but the beauty of thought and conduct, something to which I aspire.
“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Seeking wisdom has widened my lens, put my petty concerns into perspective and allowed me to act with greater kindness, humility, and humanity. Does it mean I’m never selfish, anxious or impatient? No. Does it mean I am wise in every situation? Definitely not.
But looking for wise resolutions to the travails of everyday life has helped me to trust my instincts and be true to myself.
