Wisdom
Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act productively using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight.[1] Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, self-transcendence, and non-attachment,[2] and virtues such as ethics and benevolence.[3][4]
For other uses, see Wisdom (disambiguation).Mythological perspectives[edit]
History[edit]
The ancient Greeks considered wisdom to be an important virtue, personified as the goddesses Metis and Athena. Metis was the first wife of Zeus, who, according to Hesiod's Theogony, had devoured her pregnant; Zeus earned the title of Mêtieta ("The Wise Counselor") after that, as Metis was the embodiment of wisdom, and he gave birth to Athena, who is said to have sprung from his head.[11][12] Athena was portrayed as strong, fair, merciful, and chaste.[13]
Apollo was also considered a god of wisdom, designated as the conductor of the Muses (Musagetes),[14] who were personifications of the sciences and of the inspired and poetic arts. According to Plato in his Cratylus, the name of Apollo could also mean "ballon" (archer) and "omopoulon" (unifier of poles [divine and earthly]), since this god was responsible for divine and true inspirations, thus considered an archer who was always right in healing and oracles: "he is an ever-darting archer".[15] Apollo prophesied through the priestesses (Pythia) in the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), where the aphorism "know thyself" (gnōthi seauton)[a] was inscribed (one of the Delphic maxims).[16] He was contrasted with Hermes, who was related to the sciences and technical wisdom, and, in the first centuries after Christ, was associated with Thoth in an Egyptian syncretism, under the name Hermes Trimegistus.[17] Greek tradition recorded the earliest introducers of wisdom in the Seven Sages of Greece.[18]
To Socrates and Plato, philosophy was literally the love of wisdom (philo-sophia). This permeates Plato's dialogues; in The Republic the leaders of his proposed utopia are philosopher kings who understand the Form of the Good and possess the courage to act accordingly. Aristotle, in Metaphysics, defined wisdom as understanding why things are a certain way (causality), which is deeper than merely knowing things are a certain way.[b] He was the first to make the distinction between phronesis and sophia.[5]
According to Plato and Xenophon, the Pythia of the Delphic Oracle answered the question "who is the wisest man in Greece?" by stating Socrates was the wisest.[19] According to Plato's Apology, Socrates decided to investigate the people who might be considered wiser than him, concluding they lacked true knowledge:
This became immortalized in the phrase "I know that I know nothing" an aphorism suggesting that it is wise to recognize one's own ignorance[20] and to value epistemic humility.[21]
The ancient Romans also valued wisdom, which was personified as Minerva or Pallas. She also represents skillful knowledge and the virtues, especially chastity. Her symbol was the owl, which is still a popular representation of wisdom, because it can see in darkness. She was said to have been born from Jupiter's forehead.[22]
Buddhist traditions provide comprehensive guidance on how to develop wisdom.[23][24] In the Inuit tradition, developing wisdom was one of the aims of teaching. An Inuit Elder said that a person became wise when they could see what needed to be done and do it successfully without being told what to do.
In many cultures, the name for third molars, which are the last teeth to grow, is etymologically linked with wisdom, as in the English wisdom tooth. This nickname originated from the classical tradition—the Hippocratic writings used the term sóphronistér (in Greek, related to the meaning of moderation or teaching a lesson), and in Latin dens sapientiae (wisdom tooth).[25]