Wisdom is a first-function
virtue, associated with our higher thinking, spirituality, and capactity for
self rule. Our Own Druidry describes Wisdom as “Good judgment, the ability to
perceive people and situations correctly, deliberate about and decide on the
correct response.” I feel that this definition is mostly appropriate, but it
perhaps doesn’t go far enough.
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| Symbol of Wisdom in Utrecht Photo by brbbl via Wikimedia Commons |
When I sat down to describe
Wisdom, I kept trying to think of synonyms for it that might shed light on the
nature of the virtue itself. What I came up with were not really synonyms but
more, near-synonyms. I do think that perhaps the true nature of Wisdom is found
at the junction of these related concepts:
Knowledge: knowledge is an
essential part of Wisdom, one cannot be wise and ignorant simultaneously. But
we all know someone who is intelligent and well educated but who is nonetheless
a fool. Wisdom isn’t knowledge alone.
Experience: We often
associate Wisdom with experience and age, the image of the wise sage is obvious
in pop culture from Gandalf to Dumbledore, Master Yoda to Master Splinter, from
Mahatma Ghandi to our own grandpas, But we all also can think of those people
who are wise somehow far beyond their years (from literature, see Charles
Wallace Murray). So experience helps, but doesn’t define wisdom.
Understanding and
application: To be wise, someone must not only know things, they must also be
able to understand the meaning of what they know, and be able to apply it. This
ties it with vision, as it takes a certain ability to predict consequences to properly
apply knowledge.
Wisdom is complex! I
definitely plan to pursue a more complete understanding, but that is my process
so far.
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