What is Wisdom?
What is wisdom, why does it matter, and how do we cultivate it?
Welcome
We may aspire to being wise. We may think that wisdom is something worth having. But when you start to ask deeper questions about wisdom, it becomes more puzzling. What is wisdom (if it is anything at all)? How does it matter (if it matters)? And how do we cultivate it (if it is the kind of thing you can cultivate at all)?
In an everyday sense, we seem to have a pretty good grasp of what we mean when we talk about wisdom. When we see somebody clambering over the barrier in the zoo to cuddle the gorilla, we think, “That seems remarkably unwise.” When we go through a difficult relationship breakdown, and we talk with a friend who gives us sound advice, we think, “I’m fortunate to have wise friends.”
But when it comes to asking what wisdom really is, things get a bit trickier. Wisdom seems to be both the most everyday thing, and also the most elevated.
Love and humility
As is well-known, philosophy or philosophia (φιλοσοφία in Greek) is the love (philo) of wisdom (sophia). This is an idea that goes back to the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras. And since Pythagoras, philosophers have claimed to have a particularly close relationship with wisdom. This is a view…
