Humility,
Simplicity, and Aporia
The first thought I
had was on the necessity of humility in developing wisdom. Assuming that one is
lacking or inferior - not being vainglorious or arrogant - is the ground for
becoming wise.
The best example of
this in history is Socrates, who the oracle said was the wisest man in Greece.
She proclaimed this for a simple reason: because Socrates knew his own
ignorance. This sounds so simple but it exposes the average person: that
everyone thinks he knows everything. By admitting one's limitations, by
admitting what one does not know, one finds the basis for becoming wise.
Building off of this
is the virtue of simplicity; not only living simply but embracing it as a
virtue intellectually. For example, one thing Socrates always starts off by
doing is defining his terms. Someone will come to him and want to
debate, but before Socrates will do this he first makes sure both he and his
interlocutor understand their terms.
I can never concede
the utility of this. There are so many discussions that would fare so much
better if people stopped and defined their terms. I also think of times when I
see people arguing; I wonder if each has a different definition for the term
they are yelling about.
When you read the
dialogues Socrates will spend line after line trying to come to basic
definitions - often unsuccessfully. It is here where we see the purpose
of the dialogues. As it is not for us to come to a particular conclusion - but
to that elusive state of "not knowing" or "aporia."
Sometimes this is
called the state of "divine ignorance" and I feel that this is a
major part of wisdom. It is elusive and hard to define; you know when you are
here because it is at the same time paradoxical, foolish, humorous, and
profound. It is the "divine spark" that is the closest we can get to
truth when using the mind.
Self-Knowledge
Another aspect of
wisdom of self-knowledge. A great exercise for this is just to go mentally
through one's day and make a list of all the different "roles" that
one plays. For example, in the morning with this person I act this way; at
midday I am with this superior and I act this way; then in the evening I am
with this person and I behave like this.
If you go through
this process you see how many contradictions we have - and how capricious we
are. You see how much falsehood is a part of our personality. By doing this it
becomes possible to see through all these faces and come to the true
"self" that is behind them.
Exile
Another aspect of
wisdom is exile. By this I mean detachment, disidentification, and dispassion;
becoming disinterested in the fruits of one's labor, inclining to solitude, and
abandoning the quest for sense experience. This trait is closely connected to
asceticism, and elevates one above slavery to the physical.
Contradiction
"Do I contradict
myself?" asks Whitman. "Very well then. I am large, I contain
multitudes." This is another aspect of wisdom. There is often a desire
that one should always be consistent; that one should never change one's opinion
or be contradictory.
While on the one hand
it is true that consistency can be a sign of integrity, at the same time contradiction can also be a sign of wisdom. Truth may change depending on the circumstances;
and in our complex world truth may be one thing in one scenario, and then just
the opposite in another instance.
Foolishness
Foolishness is
another element of wisdom. If we return to Socrates, we think of the life of
poverty that he lived. This lifestyle is an absurdity to the average person; it
is here where we see the difference between real wisdom and the "wisdom of the
world."
It is humorous here
because when investigated, the "world's wisdom" is a pursuit of
nonsense. Eventually we all grow old, sick, and die; any experience in the
present is temporary; and time is being wasted in which one could be making
progress on the real "work." Yet heedlessly everyone barrels forward
with the anxieties of materialism. "Vanity of vanities," says
Ecclesiastes, "all is vanity."
Ordinariness
A final aspect
is the invisibility of wisdom. A figure like Socrates may appear completely
ordinary or unremarkable. When these people speak they could be poor orators -
their mouths may not drip with drops of gold liquid ("chrysostomos"
in Greek). You may not see the real wealth that they have within.
