Philosophy, Wisdom, and the Future

From "Mexico Set" by Marco Cadena via Flickr

By Tom Lombardo, Ph.D. © Copyright 2012 Center for Future Consciousness

Philosophy, from the ancient Greek, means the “love of wisdom.” What I wish to propose is that futurists should become philosophers in this sense: The primary guiding mindset and aspiration for futurists should be the pursuit, development, and practice of wisdom. My argument is simple: Wisdom is the highest expression of future consciousness and therefore should be the standard relative to which all thinking about the future and all approaches to the future are modeled and judged.

Let me begin by presenting a definition of wisdom, an evolving definition since wisdom itself is not some static capacity or trait, but a dynamic reality in evolution. I draw this definition from various articles I have written on wisdom, education, and the future.¹  Wisdom can be defined as the highest expression of self-development and future consciousness. It is the continually evolving understanding of and fascination with the big picture of life, of what is important, ethical, and meaningful, and the desire and ability to apply this understanding to enhance the well being of life, both for oneself and others. This definition has been distilled from contemporary psychological research and philosophical discussion, reflecting both Eastern and Western thinking, on the nature of wisdom.²

Now I will unpack this definition and enrich it with certain important details and implications, demonstrating why all of the central features of productively thinking about and successfully dealing with issues of the future are captured in this definition.

First note that wisdom is the pinnacle of human self-development. Numerous psychologists who have studied human development identify wisdom as the highest level of cognitive, emotional, personal, and ethical development that can be realized in humans. If futurists wish to walk the talk – to live their lives as exemplars of what they argue for – to intuitively understand what the ideal possibilities of human evolution in the future are – then futurists should aspire to wisdom in their own personal development.

Further, regarding this opening point, I should highlight that wisdom is a holistic psychological trait – it is not simply a cognitive capacity or storehouse of knowledge. There are emotional and personal features associated with the trait. Now it seems to me that our conscious attitude or general mindset relative to the future – what I refer to as “future consciousness” – involves emotional, motivational, and personal features, for example, the qualities of hope, fear, optimism-pessimism, and self-efficacy.³  Further, I would argue that constructive thinking and action relative to the future necessarily involve positive emotional and personal qualities. A negative emotional orientation, e.g., depression and pessimism, inhibits creative thinking and generates self-fulfilling negative prophecies. People who are afraid of the future run away from it or attack those who wish to embrace it. On the other hand, wisdom tends to be associated with the positive qualities of hope, compassion, and self-efficacy. To inspire and teach others about the future requires a positive emotional set relative to the future. To find constructive solutions to problems facing us requires optimism, hope, and other affective qualities. Hence, constructive future consciousness can not be seen as just a cognitive capacity; it is not simply a set of skills or body of knowledge. The holistic quality of wisdom captures this quintessential feature of constructive future consciousness.

Next, as already mentioned above, wisdom is dynamical and growing; in particular wisdom, as a form of knowledge and understanding, does not stand still – it keeps expanding and enriching itself. Whatever type of knowledge base we use to approach the future, that knowledge base must be conceived of as transformative and evolutionary. We can not understand the future from a static or stable position. (“The future ain’t what it used to be, and it never was.”) I have argued elsewhere that a key element of wisdom is that it continually incorporates new ideas and discoveries, for example, from contemporary science; one can’t be wise and stand still epistemologically. Part of any viable knowledge system is that it is open to revision, that it is tempered with doubt and humility, or how else would it transform and grow? Openness and epistemic humility are qualities of wisdom, and clearly these qualities are necessary in thinking about and conceptualizing the future.

Wisdom is comprehensive and integrative knowledge about life and the diverse aspects of human reality. For one thing, any viable approach to the future must be holistic, incorporating ecological, global, and even cosmic considerations and perspectives. This broad and synthetic picture of reality embodied in wisdom also includes the temporal dimension of things – of past, present, and future. Wisdom connects the heritage and lessons of the past with the thoughtfulness, openness, and creativity needed for the future. Wisdom involves an expansive synthesis of temporal consciousness – it combats the excessive narrow “presentism” of today. Predicting the future is based upon understanding the patterns of the past; guiding the future is based upon having learned from the mistakes and successes of the past. The futurist and the person of wisdom see outward into space and time and pull it together.

In the next part of the definition, I want to highlight the term “ethical,” for wisdom is a capacity focused on doing what is ethically best (or being guided by what is ethically best). Wisdom is ethically informed knowledge – wisdom is applied ethics. Again, wisdom is not just a cognitive capacity. Wisdom is also a virtue – an ethical character trait.

In considering the main types of thinking about the future, thinking about preferable futures occupies an important position. It is not enough to imagine possibilities or predict probabilities; it is just as important to consider the most preferable direction for the future. Thinking about the future must be ethically informed. Ethics ties in with choice; if the future is seen as an arena of possibilities and different choices, then it is ethical considerations that should determine which choices (or decisions) are made. To think and act ethically with respect to the future is just another way to define wisdom.

Wisdom is also connected with other virtues such as courage and compassion, which are also important factors in approaching the future. The future is uncertain, hence courage is required in making decisions and carrying out actions regarding the future. Compassion is part of wisdom because wisdom is concerned not only with personal betterment but the betterment of humanity. One will not be concerned about others and their well being unless one has compassion for others.

The last part of the definition indicates that wisdom is practical knowledge; it involves the capacity to positively impact reality. Analogously, futures thinking, or more broadly future consciousness, should have practical relevance; it should provide guidance regarding how to act. Action connects with ethics, for it is ethics which guides the choice of actions, but as a starting point, we must have the know-how and capacity to produce desired effects in the world through our actions. Wisdom is efficacious future consciousness.

Futurists argue that thinking about the future and becoming informed of the possibilities and probabilities of the future is of great benefit, the least of which, if we follow Francis Bacon’s dictum that “Knowledge is power,” is that we will be better able to constructively cope with and effectively direct the future unfolding of events. Yet, what normative model is provided regarding how best to realize the capacity of future consciousness? I have proposed that wisdom, as a virtue, a character trait, and a form of knowledge, provides the best model for describing heightened, efficacious, and constructive future consciousness. It is the ideal we should aspire toward in our own self-development and in guiding the development of others. Futurists should become philosophers in the true sense of the word.

—

¹ Lombardo, Thomas “The Pursuit of Wisdom and the Future of Education” Creating Global Strategies for Humanity’s Future. Mack, Timothy C. (Ed.) World Future Society, Bethesda, Maryland, 2006; Lombardo, Thomas “Developing Constructive and Creative Attitudes and Behaviors about the Future: Part IV – Wisdom, Virtues, and the Ideal Future Self-Narrative” in World Futures Study Federation Futures Bulletin, Volume 32, No. 3, June, 2007; Lombardo, Thomas “Wisdom and the Second Enlightenment” in World Futures Study Federation Futures Bulletin, Volume 32, No. 3, June, 2007b; Lombardo, Thomas, “The Evolution and Psychology of Future Consciousness” Journal of Future Studies, Volume 12, No. 1, August, 2007.
² Macdonald, Copthorne The Wisdom Page – http://www.wisdompage.com/; Sternberg, Robert (Ed.) Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins, and Development. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990; Sternberg, Robert and Jordan, Jennifer (Ed.) A Handbook of Wisdom: Psychological Perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
³ Lombardo, Thomas “The Value of Future Consciousness” in Foresight, Innovation, and Strategy. Wagner, C. (Ed.) World Future Society: Bethesda, Maryland, 2005; Lombardo, Thomas “Thinking Ahead: The Value of Future Consciousness”, The Futurist, January-February, 2006; Lombardo, Thomas “Developing Constructive and Creative Attitudes and Behaviors about the Future: Part I – Deep Learning, Emotion, and Motivation” in World Futures Study Federation Futures Bulletin, Volume 31, No. 6, November, 2006.

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The Dislike of Catholicism: Understanding the Holy in the Catholic Tradition, 6 – Philosophical and historical reasons / conclusion

Roman Catholic by digitalexander via Flickr

1 – Introduction
2 – Theory and method
3 – Theological reasons
4 – Social and political reasons
5 – Psychological reasons
6 – Philosophical and historical reasons and conclusion

Philosophical Reasons

Philosophy is an ancient discipline that has branched out in many different, sometimes conflicting directions. So it’s difficult to write just a few lines about why people dislike Catholicism from a philosophical perspective.

Having said that, a broad distinction can be made between philosophers who rely solely on thinking, or believe they do, and those who are open to the idea that reason can follow divine revelation or be inspired by God.

The former type, the thinkers, seem to get tangled up in a web of conceptual thinking, perhaps never learning anything beyond the range of their own abstract ideas. They usually take great pains to define certain concepts (e.g. love, meaning, being, knowing, caring, commitment) and then talk about why their particular brand of thinking is best. They may talk about the importance of experience, but that experience is typically gained from the conventional senses. For convenience I’ll call these type A philosophers.

The latter type, whom I call type B, consider the possibility that thought may be informed not just by everyday experience but also by religious or numinous experience.

Type A individuals may or may not believe in a Godhead. But their ideas tend to be limited to their extremely limited (say, through drug use) or highly constricted experience of the numinous.

Type B’s typically would believe in some notion of God, a higher power or a divinity within. And their beliefs may be pantheistic or theistic. But even so, their ideas and convictions could still be limited by their interpretation of a particular numinous experience or set of experiences.¹

As for the dislike of Catholicism, if neither A nor B had experienced the numinous within a Catholic setting, they’d have no reason to believe in the spiritual efficacy of Catholicism. However, Catholics who consciously sense the Holy Spirit upon entering a Church and through the sacraments (such as the Eucharist) do have reason to believe in their religion. They may not agree with all aspects of Catholicism as it currently stands at this point in history but they do revere its core elements. After all, the true elements of Catholicism, if they really are true, must be holy and everlasting.

Historical Reasons

Finally, there are definite historical reasons why people dislike Catholicism.

Sometimes when I mention words like ‘Mass’ or ‘Church’ others instantly point out the dark aspects of Catholic history, such as the Inquisitions, the torture of so-called witches, blatantly greedy, reprobate Popes and the ridiculous trial, condemnation and house arrest of Galileo when he observed with his telescope four moons around Jupiter. While it’s important to recognize the past atrocities and idiocies of any social or religious institution, it’s also important to consider the positive aspects they may have to offer today.

Another reason why people dislike Catholicism has to do with psycho-history. Psycho-history is an odd sounding discipline. Rest assured it has nothing to do with Alfred Hitchcock’s Norman Bates or disturbed people going on killing sprees. Instead, it’s about past generations influencing present generations through a possibly genetic and definitely cultural heritage.

The importance of psycho-history cannot be overemphasized. Practically speaking, many individuals have been raised in non-Catholic families that go back for centuries.  When our family roots are deeply defined by a given tradition, it’s arguably difficult to adopt a new set of beliefs. Not impossible, of course. But difficult.

These people dislike Catholicism because they’re psychologically biased by their non-Catholic genealogy. They may see themselves as open-minded people but longstanding biases, extending back for generations, discourage them from exploring the Catholic vision on its own terms, as it stands today.

Conclusion

It seems that many self-proclaimed freethinkers arguably aren’t as hip, liberated and progressive as they say. Some seem to shut right down when it comes to talking about Catholicism in a mature, adult way. They’ve got it all figured out. At least, that’s what they believe.

But to be truly open-minded is to investigate even seemingly rigid, arid and authoritarian practices to discover if there is anything of value within. It’s about coming full-circle and getting past one’s preconceived beliefs about intellectual and spiritual freedom. It’s also about humbly recognizing the limits of the intellect and understanding how past and present influences may inform our preferences, thoughts and opinions.

This kind of journey examines religious experience with the same kind of critical and scientific edge that we’d hopefully apply to our external experiences. And its beauty is that one doesn’t have to travel around the world to get there. Nor does one have to agree with every aspect of contemporary Catholic teaching to enjoy the riches of this tradition. In fact, one can still disagree and even dislike aspects of Catholicism while remaining open-minded and balanced enough to appreciate its spiritual bounty.

—

¹ For instance, some Christians in the first century vigorously believed that Jesus would return in their lifetimes and that the end of the world was near.

Copyright © Michael Clark, 2012.

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Is Life a Computer Simulation?

Schrödinger's cat via Wikipedia

Author: Allen Epling

Two famous experiments in quantum physics demonstrate how bizarre reality is at that level.

In the famous ‘Schrödinger’s Cat’ experiment, quantum theory says that the cat is both dead and alive in a ‘probability’ state until the observer opens the box and observes the outcome. At that point the ‘probability state’ ‘collapses’ and the outcome becomes ‘real’.

In the ‘double slit’ experiment, the outcome is determined entirely by which or two types of measurements the experimenter makes. Any attempt to change the type of ‘measurement’ also changes the outcome. A single outcome does not exist until the observer makes a decision as to how to measure the outcome.

Bizarre as it sounds, both conclusions have been proven to be true.

This says that, at the very smallest, quantum, level of reality, the exact nature of reality is not determined until it is ‘observed’, at which time it then ‘collapses’ into a definite state. This suggests that something is happening at that level that cannot be explained by ‘normal’ physical laws. Perhaps there is a common sense answer.

As a former computer programmer, I often layered a number of subroutines in a program to account for any decision the user might make. THE OUTCOME WAS NOT DETERMINED UNTIL THE USER MADE A DECISION. I didn’t realize this was the same type of systemic process that is happening at the quantum level of reality.

In an attempt to understand what is happening at that level, physicists have to look at smaller and smaller details of sub-atomic particle activity.

Isn’t this exactly the same process necessary to understand the functioning of a computer program? To understand what was happening, an interpreter would have to look at the minute details of the original code for the program.

It has been suggested that the entire universe could be reconstructed in an computer with enough memory and processing power. It would take 10 followed by 100 zeros, bytes of memory. One way to conserve memory would be to make distances in the universe so large that the participants would have no way to ever leave their immediate environment to travel to the distant ‘stars’ and other parts of the program.

I believe there is the possibility that when we are exploring the most minute particles of physics, we may actually be interacting with the basic bits of a computer program, in which we are all characters in the program.

Of course, if there is a program, there must be a programmer, A CREATOR.

In such an environment, ‘miracles’ and ‘supernatural’ events would be no problem for the ‘master programmer’ to write into the program. It would also be an easy task for the programmer to write Himself into the program as a ‘special’ character with enhanced properties, and interact with the participants.

Such a program could have some randomness and ‘free will’ built into the actions of the participants, however the programmer, in the end, could act as a ‘judge’ of the merits of the individual participants and decide whether to continue their role in a more advanced program that follows.

I’m sure someone reading this must be laughing at the suggestion I just made, that we are living in a computer simulated environment, that we think of as reality. I myself had to restrain my sense of humor as to how far to carry this scenario. The problem is how do I prove it is not ‘real’.

The bizarre world of quantum mechanics is the most basic layer of ‘reality’ yet found, and is not yet understood fully, however it does offer some evidence that all the above dissertation is true.

Is this where we will finally find scientific evidence that there is a Creator?

Or, have I just spent too much time on my computer playing World of Warcraft?

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/christianity-articles/is-life-a-computer-simulation-4219869.html

About the Author

In my life I have been blessed with many experiences. I have played lead guitar in a rock band, airplane pilot, astronomer, teacher, network administrator, radio announcer and engineer, Ham radio operator, computer consultant, School Administrator, and author. Of these I like playing guitar and writing best. My wife says I will never grow up. I hope she’s right.
‘Knowledge is never as good as imagination’ – Einstein

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Review – Finding God: The Enlightenment (DVD 2 of 3)

Title: Finding God: The Enlightenment – Disc 2
Genre: Body Mind Spirit, Religion, Meta-Physics
Production Company: Reality Films

(Review for Disc 1 is here;  Disc 3 is here)

Philip Gardiner’s Finding God: The Enlightenment is a three DVD set including Quantum Mind of God, Science of Soul, and Ancient Code.

Disc 2, Science of Soul: The End-Time Solar Cycle of Chaos in 2012 A.D., asks whether the year 2012 will bring about a quantum leap of consciousness or possibly a global nightmare.

Closely following Dr. John Jay Harper’s book Tranceformers: Shamans of the 21^st Century, Science of Soul explores these and other compelling questions.

The film’s innovative graphics and haunting soundtrack set the mood for a detailed examination of the mythic symbol of the axis mundi (world axis). Also, possible links among DNA, psi and global transformation are investigated.

Those sympathetic to the philosophy of natural pantheism, where the universe is taken to be God and therefore conscious, will find much in this DVD to support their beliefs. Meanwhile, believers in theism (where God is conceptualized as ‘wholly other’ from Creation) might bristle a bit at its unabashed syncretism.

Regardless of our guiding beliefs, Science of Soul carries an ethical message that few sane people would find fault in: To love and live peacefully among ourselves. And when you think about it, no one fully knows just what God is and how the divine interacts with organic life and the supposedly inorganic universe.

It’s probably just a matter of time before Science of Soul’s integral approach is embraced by the gatekeepers of both contemporary scientific and religious thought. But a comprehensive gelling of Big Science and Big Religion might take a little longer than most of us would hope for, given the deeply entrenched historical biases that inform our 21^st century worldview.

We shouldn’t be discouraged, however. As a catalyst for this much needed dialogue, Science of Soul is a definite step in the right direction.

–MC

(Review for Disc 1 is here;  Disc 3 is here)

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Help Always, Hurt Never

The kindness of strangers by Ed Yourdon via Flickr

Revenge, the desire to hurt others who have hurt us, only bears bitter fruit. It hurts those whom we have inflicted our wrath upon. And it hurts us, because no single act in the universe goes unrewarded. From that singular act, our own consciousness is wounded by the expression of our animalism.

Nations pride themselves on the swiftness of their retribution but inevitably collapse in on themselves because the seeds of discontent that they sow, hurts all of life. Rome, the greatest civilization that the world had ever known, built on the finest arts and sciences known to the ancient world, the epitome of legal and architectural order, collapsed from within, destroyed by its own impulse to use its mighty force to strike out and subdue.

Today our world is dying because of this impulse to strike out.

We are destroying each other at an alarming rate, both individually and collectively.

And even the earth itself, is collapsing at a faster rate than we can repair. Scientists now estimate that by the year 2050, we will have exhausted the earth of all its natural resources.

The science that we celebrate, the genius of our efforts, are wasted on destructive uses. Instead of using the power of the nucleus to build great civilizations we are busy using it to stockade bombs.

Billions of dollars that could be used to heal the broken places on our planet are used to send people to horrific deaths.

When we seek to hurt life, we hurt ourselves, for we are life.

Revenge it is said is a dish best served cold; but whether it is served with cold deliberation or hot reaction, it is a dish in whose very preparation we imbue a poison that will return to destroy us.

The greatest illusion is this: that we can hurt and not be hurt, that we can wound another and remain unscathed. When we inflict harm upon another, we inflict harm upon ourselves. What goes around comes around. A rudimentary study of history will prove this.

When we love, we reach out to align with life, to nurture and make others better, and in that act, we redeem ourselves from our own past follies.

This love is a precious act. It is our extension of spiritual power in the world. It is a moment of sympathy and support that we have for life. When you bend down and help a child tie its shoelaces, you are tying up all the knots of the world. When you listen in silence and understand another’s intention, you are spreading the meme of empathy through all of time and space, for thoughts are cosmic waves that do not know any barriers.

As we extend love to others, it comes back to us.

Yet we cannot love others unless we love ourselves as well.

We cannot live without making mistakes of judgment and do things that we will later regret, because we are na?ve and do foolish things out of that naivety. But we do grow, and looking back at the harm we have invoked, we feel grief. Our act of love, then, is to forgive ourselves. Yet instead of taking this simple act, we damn ourselves repeatedly, and in this way, we still hurt life, because we are life.

When we feel the urge to strike out, we must remember how it feels to have the wound inflicted upon our own flesh, because everything returns to the author of a deed.

Help always, hurt never. Do this and your life will be a blessing to the world and you must reap the harvest from what you have sown.

Source: http://www.articlecircle.com/ – Free Articles Directory

About the Author

Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas with you. Hunting everywhere for a life worth living? Discover the life of your dreams. His book, Never Ever Give Up is offered at no cost to stimulate your success. http://www.theempoweredsoul.com/enter.html

The Modern Myth

Time Line of the Universe, NASA via Wikipedia

by Jared Hobbs

In the present, it seems people prefer a condescending perspective of past mythological beliefs as less psychologically advanced, as if the intelligence level of humanity has drastically changed since its emergence. Our knowledge of the physical world has definitely been revised and refined through time and experience, but not through superiority. Our intellectual capacity has remained relatively rigid.

Many people misunderstand that humanity continues to enjoy an existence in a mythological age. One myth has been exchanged for another to correspond with the new paradigm. “Let There Be Light” has become “The Big Bang Theory”. Neither provides a sufficient answer to the emphasized philosophical questions of “why” and “how,” although one speculates and both assume the questions valid in regards to the acceptance of a creation, and both attempt to expound the process. Today still, the mystery of the movement from time zero to the initial conditions endures.

Myths are metaphorical. Myths of old often use the concrete to understand the abstract. Today’s myths use the abstract, such as mathematics, to understand the concrete. Not having a complete comprehension was once acceptable, as the goal was more aligned with coping. Now, fueled by the Enlightenment ideals of progress, an ultimate, yet unattainable, answer is demanded using the beautiful tool of the scientific method. But science, by definition and not by fault, is limited to the physical universe. The materialists who do not understand this, or believe that the limits of their senses equate the limits of reality, place as much faith in doctrine as does any religious believer. Science and religion users seek the same objective, yet fail to realize the subjective. One might reference the parable of the scientists who have been painstakingly and figuratively climbed the mountain of knowledge, who finally reach the peak and prepare to celebrate, when they see a bunch of monks already sitting there, and all continue to scratch their heads.

Physics and Metaphysics encapsulate two differing realms, as implied by the prefix “Meta”, meaning above, beyond, transcending, etc. To compare the two would be a categorical mistake, and this is precisely what occurs when people believe the modern myth.

For more information on mythological topics such as the mythological motive, please visit Jared Hobbs at his blog Meditations for all topics spiritual, psychological, philosophical, and more!

Article Source: amazines.com

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Top Three Tweets

More alternative news headlines at twitter.com/earthpages

Today’s Top Three Tweets dig deep into what it means to be human. Are we just social beings? Can we get God’s game plan from a direct source or established authority? And what about the idea of time? Is it real or just something we’ve cooked up?

1. What are the dangers of postmodernism — GotQuestions.org — Question of the Week | The Underground: http://bit.ly/9Nkwr7 via @addthis
2. ‘Catholic theology must be grounded in lives of the faithful’ | National Catholic Reporter: http://bit.ly/b0QmWm via @addthis
3. Astronomy Without A Telescope – Is Time Real? | Universe Today: http://bit.ly/cKlI15 via @addthis

Wisdom Is The Principal Thing

29 of 365 Pearls of Wisdom: chiarashine

By: Domenic Marbaniang

The Book of Proverbs in the Bible presents Wisdom as the first of all things. Wisdom existed before the worlds existed, for by it were the worlds created, it says. Therefore, King Solomon advices the youth to first seek for wisdom above all things, above rubies, pearls, and whatever categorized material blessings in those days. For, when wisdom comes, it comes with these and more.

Interestingly, the word “philosophy” actually referred to the Greek quest or love for wisdom (phileo meaning “to love” and sophia meaning “wisdom”). Sadly, in the two millenia and half that rolled out after Socrates, skepticism, relativism, agnosticism, and nihilism scribbled their characters over the scroll of this discipline. Ironically, “philosophy”, in modern parlance, is far from being considered “a love for wisdom”. As G. K. Chesterton wrote:

“..the new rebel is a sceptic, and will not entirely trust anything. He has no loyalty; therefore he can never be really a revolutionist. And the fact that he doubts everything really gets in his way when he wants to denounce anything. For all denunciation implies a moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not only the institution he denounces, but the doctrine by which he denounces it. Thus he writes one book complaining that imperial oppression insults the purity of women, and then he writes another book (about the sex problem) in which he insults it himself. He curses the Sultan because Christian girls lose their virginity, and then curses Mrs. Grundy because they keep it. As a politician, he will cry out that war is a waste of life, and then, as a philosopher, that all life is waste of time. A Russian pessimist will denounce a policeman for killing a peasant, and then prove by the highest philosophical principles that the peasant ought to have killed himself. A man denounces marriage as a lie, and then denounces aristocratic profligates for treating it as a lie. He calls a flag a bauble, and then blames the oppressors of Poland or Ireland because they take away that bauble. The man of this school goes first to a political meeting, where he complains that savages are treated as if they were beasts; then he takes his hat and umbrella and goes on to a scientific meeting, where he proves that they practically are beasts. In short, the modern revolutionist, being an infinite sceptic, is always engaged in undermining his own mines. In his book on politics he attacks men for trampling on morality; in his book on ethics he attacks morality for trampling on men. Therefore the modern man in revolt has become practically useless for all purposes of revolt. By rebelling against everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything.” (Orthodoxy, 1908)

Therefore, one marvels if the modern general information system usually leaves a person more wiser. Certainly, it is agreed that neither Intelligence Quotient nor education, in the modernist sense, are badges of wisdom. One often hears remarks regarding some illiterate peasant or one’s own less-educated parent as having more wisdom to guide one’s life than all one’s education and experiences had produced in him/her.

So, we ask what wisdom is, after all. Certainly, we understand it. So, let’s try to just put it into words in order to have some talk on it. We understand a person to be wise not because of the many questions he raises nor because of the doubts he casts; we, usually, understand that person to be wise who is able to solve problems, one who has solutions to some problem. We also understand that person to be wise who knows what to act in which situation, one who has the discernment to make the right choice and take the right decision or route to action.

Now, a great many of our actions, though not appearing so on the surface, are made up of ethical choices. And, the choices one makes builds up one’s character as a wise or a fool; for, such choices determine the quality of one’s relationships with others. A wise man is readily taken to be a man of faith, and someone that is reliable as a rock, for he knows the truth and has the character to hold on to the right principles of action in this world. If one looks into the Holy Scriptures of any religion, one will certainly not find all the answers to the moral questions we face in our days. For instance, the Bible doesn’t specifically tell us whether smoking is right or wrong (though it does give us the principles to judge our particular actions). Therefore, the laws that govern a nation continue to grow each passing day. But, wisdom as the principal thing is the key that opens the understanding to a discernment of what is right or wrong in a given situation. It calculates the moment, at hand, in perspective of God, fellowmen, and eternal repercussions. It also calculates the decision with regard to the knowledge of what is good, noble, and just. Therefore, a wise person’s company makes others wise; his countenance sharpens those who befriend him like iron sharpens iron.

Of course, as Confucius and several other people rightly noted, while the material universe is governed by the laws of nature, the psychological world of man is governed by laws of morality. Immanuel Kant once said that there were only two things that surprised him: the starry heavens above and the moral law within. Within the heart of every man and woman is written the moral law of God, and certainly a violation of this inner law not only mars and distorts one’s character, but also one’s perspective of reality. Reality is warped by transgression of the law of human behavior. Shame, guilt, pride, anguish, anxiety, vexation, distrust, mistrust, and whatever conditions disturb peace of mind are produced by a disturbed connection between the inner world and the outer world by the cord of moral understanding. It is like a boy who holds the cord to the kite that he flies in the sky. When the cord is broken, the soul is lost. The wise don’t fall prey to what the world dictates; they listen to the voice of wisdom that imparts discernment, inner rightness and justice, and mature insight. Certainly, then, faith is the mark of the wise; while the ignorant wallow in doubt, and the fool is marked by rebellion that destroys his own soul.

There is another thing to note about wisdom. It not only makes the right moral choice, it, in fact, goes ahead of this and inculcates an understanding of worth and purpose. Wisdom knows the worth of things and their purpose. It begins with an understanding of self-worth and purpose in this world. The skeptic and the unwise sees absurdity in the world. Wisdom sees meaning. I once read a quote by someone in Readers’ Digest that said “Any jackass can kick a barn down, but it takes a carpenter to build it.” Foolishness invents mental chaos; wisdom builds the world. Therefore, wisdom is known as the principal thing. One must, also therefore, seek wisdom more than any other thing. In modern times, materialism has taken hold of many young minds and their lives oriented towards accumulation of dusty gold or gold dust, whatever. The Bible declares the love of money as the root of evil, a trap and snare that only afflicts and warps character rather than building it. This pursuit of gold is certainly not the purpose of man on earth. To Aristotle, the ultimate purpose of man was to be a rational being, because this was what distinguished man from the brute world. The Bible goes a bit further and declares man’s purpose to be the pursuit of God, who though not being away from anyone of us, is still unknown to the soul that is blinded by ignorance. Some have confused the pursuit of God with the pursuit of Godhood. Man cannot be the Maker. It is pride that would reject this principal gem of wisdom. Man’s pursuit of God alone constitutes the pursuit of meaning and purpose because the Maker alone knows what man has been created for. Our meaning of life is in the mind of God. The New Testament tells us that this meaning is communicated to us through the Incarnation of God in human flesh, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ who through His life, service, death, and resurrection declared to man what his ultimate reason is, his ultimate choice of purpose in life. It is not just heaven or salvation from judgment that the Cross of Christ provides for us. It is a life that discerns God’s will and pursues it because God’s will is good and wisdom is the law of the Good.

Somewhere one certainly sees where the difference lies between the perpetrators of crime against humanity and the lovers of humanity; to symbolize, between Adolph Hitler and Mother Teresa. Deep in the hearts of humanity is the answer: wisdom. To know the good and do it is wisdom; to transgress is folly.

About the Author

Dean of Post-Graduate Studies, Professor of Theology, Religions, and Missions, Author, Editor of Theological Journal, and Pastor

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Philosophy humour…

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