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Wisdom

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The caption reads "He over all the stars does reign, that unto wisdom can attain". In other words, "Whoever becomes wise will rule over everything."

Wisdom is using knowledge, experience, and insight to think and act with good judgment. Wisdom is defined differently by many cultures and gained through natural means (e.g., life experiences and reason) or supernatural means (e.g., divine revelation and religious teachings).

Someone who has wisdom is called wise. Most cultures historically recognized wise individuals, often called sages, who were sought for guidance because they understood things ordinary people did not. In Western culture, the owl of Athena or Minerva is a symbol of wisdom.

Wisdom is broadly categorized into theoretical wisdom, practical wisdom, and moral wisdom.

Philosophical perspectives

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Western philosophy

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Ancient Greek philosophy

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  • Socrates: wisdom involves recognizing one’s own ignorance and questioning and refining one's beliefs rather than assuming certainty.[1]
  • Plato: wisdom is the love of knowledge gained through education, contemplation, and understanding justice and the forms.[2]
  • Aristotle: wisdom is understanding why things are a certain way (causality).

Medieval and Renaissance thought

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  • Augustine of Hippo: wisdom comes from knowing and loving God beyond worldly knowledge.[3]
  • Thomas Aquinas: wisdom guides reason toward ultimate truth and divine understanding found in God.[4] Natural wisdom comes through reason and supernatural wisdom comes through divine revelation.[5]
  • Erasmus and Montaigne: emphasized self-reflection, skepticism, and challenging dogmatic reliance on authority.[6]

Modern and contemporary philosophy

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  • Immanuel Kant: wisdom is applying practical reason to act according to universal moral principles.[7]
  • Friedrich Nietzsche: wisdom is self-created through personal growth, struggle, and self-overcoming.[8]
  • Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus: wisdom is accepting life's absurdity and choosing to live meaningfully despite its challenges.[9]
  • John Dewey: wisdom is acquired through ongoing inquiry, experimentation, adaption, and reflection.[10]
  • Martha Nussbaum: wisdom integrates emotional intelligence and empathy into moral reasoning.