Wisdom: what it is and what it is not
Wisdom is a concept that has been under examination since ancient times. When many think of wisdom, they often think traditionally that wisdom is knowing a great deal about the world and its ways and for one to be wise, they must be elderly and exceed intellectual abilities. However, wisdom is perceiving the world in a true, simple manner where wisdom can claim one of any intelligence and one of any age.
Wisdom is defined as perceiving the world in a true, simple manner. Many traditionally think going through many life experiences coupled with high intelligence, is the road to acquiring wisdom. A common definition of wisdom is “the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of such experience, knowledge, and good judgment” (Google.com). However, it is not. Wisdom is about viewing the world truly and simply. Viewing the world simply gives one the ability to overlook the complicated world’s problems and see the world in its true, simple state, regardless of life experience. By viewing the world simply, one can acquire wisdom and see the world for what it truly is and for what it truly should be. Wisdom does not happen without truth. To be wise, one must see the world in its true state. As wisdom is perceiving the world in a true, simple manner, it does not correlate with age or intelligence. Now, age is not a determinant for wisdom. Wisdom is not determined by age. Contrary to popular belief, one is not wiser just
because they are older, despite the fact that elders have been through numerous, various life experiences and seen a great deal. One can be very old and have no sense of wisdom. In a
psychological study, researchers found that wisdom does not correlate with old age: “Researchers interested in immediate demonstration of the superiority of older persons in tasks of wisdom may be disappointed because so far we have found few older persons who display a level of knowledge that can be categorized as wise,” (Sternberg 114). Thus, it is a very ignorant to confuse wisdom with old age, or to believe that just because one is elderly or old in age that they hold a large amount or any sense of wisdom. Wisdom does not correlate with age at all. Take Tiny Tim on A Christmas Carol, for example. Tiny Tim, who suffers from a chronic disease, has a very simplistic and cheerful outlook on the world in which he always states, “God bless us, everyone” (A Christmas Carol)! Tiny Tim displays great wisdom with these four words, and his simplistic cheerful attitude is characteristic of young children around his age. Tiny Tim’s father acknowledged Tim’s wisdom to his wife: “Somehow he gets thoughtful sitting by himself so much, and he thinks of the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hope the people sawed him in church, because he was a cripple and it might make pleasant for them to remember it upon Christmas day who made lame beggars walk and blind men see” (A Christmas Carol). This is coming from a child who has a very unfortunate medical condition yet his outlook in the world is true and wise. Especially in comparison with Ebenezer Scrooge in the film, who is painfully old, yet he has not one ounce of wisdom.
Children are a very fitting example of wisdom in that they perceive the world simply, especially compared to those of older age. For example, consider a hypothetical situation where two adults are talking over a cup of coffee. A child overhears them talking about the stresses of
life, specifically a troubled marriage. Observing and intently listening to the conversation, the child come to the simple and true conclusion that the two spouses should just hug it out. This is a
much wiser decision than divorce, which can be destructive and devastating to family. Thus, one does not have to be elderly to be wise because as people get older, their outlook on the world becomes increasingly complicated and they view the world in a more complex, tainted manner, due to the fact that they have seen more. The key to wisdom is seeing the world truly and simply, much like children do. “Children are incredibly wise and tend to see the world more simply than we do. Perhaps it is time we start taking their advice” (Kurt). By children seeing the world very simply and matter-of-factly, and in this way of perceiving they find truth and hence, achieve wisdom. Children see the world as simple and usually have short, true answers to the questions of the world. Additionally, one does not have to be intelligent to hold wisdom.
For one to hold wisdom, they do not have to be intelligent; the two concepts are completely unrelated. Wisdom is driven by one’s outlook on the world and the key characteristic to this very outlook is simplicity. For example, many people who are extremely intelligent may actually have a disadvantage because they may look at the world more complicatedly. Have you ever seen a really intelligent person trying to figure out a problem, yet the solution is so simple that the intelligent mind cannot grasp something so simple and then a person of less intelligence comes and solves the problem in a flash because they are more simple-minded than the intelligent person, and therefore, wiser. Children, who do not hold much intelligence, literally see the world more simply than adults. “Children and adults see the world differently, research finds. Unlike adults, children are able to keep information from their senses separate and may therefore able to perceive the visual world differently”(ScienceDaily). People of young age are able to see the world simply for what it is. Children being able to see the world more simply, making them wiser, is important because they are of a young age and therefore are less intelligent than their elders, yet they still hold wisdom proving that intelligence does not correlate with wisdom at all. In an article on mental retardation, one explains that one who is mentally retarded still holds wisdom although their IQ is very low, “But a person who has a disability is not that. They are very wise on some things, and they can be very knowledgeable about some things” (Shapiro). Mentally challenged individuals have the ability to have wisdom even with a very low intelligence quotient.
Wisdom is perceiving the world in a true, simple manner where wisdom can claim one of any intelligence and one of any age. True and simple are two very important ingredients for wisdom because wisdom is truth. Viewing the world in a simple manner is very critical to wisdom because viewing the world with a complicated perception distracts the viewer from the truths of the world and what is important in life. One does not have to be intelligent to hold wisdom because wisdom is not about having intelligence. Wisdom is about viewing the world in a true, simple manner. Those who are of lesser intelligence, such as those considered to be mentally disabled are perfectly capable of holding wisdom. Also, children who do not and are not expected to have high intelligence are very good representatives of wisdom in that they have a very good ability to view the world in a simple, uncomplicated manner as opposed to adults. Hence, wisdom does not require intelligence. Wisdom does not correlate with age whatsoever. Many young people are among the wisest of all. One does not have to be elderly to hold wisdom, as most commonly believed. Wisdom is about looking at the world with truth and simplicity, and young people are actually better models of this. Older people tend to be tainted by life experience and see the world much more complicated than young children. Young people have the ability to see the world simply, even studies have proved this. Wisdom is simple.
Works Cited
A Christmas Carol. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Jim Carrey. Disney, 2009. DVD. Kurt, Erin. “The Top 10 Things Children Really Want Their Parents To Do With Them.” Lifehack.org, n.p. Web. 29 Dec. http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/the-top-10- things-children-really-want-their-parents-to-do-with-them.html
Shapiro, Joseph. “Label Falls Short for Those with Mental Retardation.” NPR. 22 Jan 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6943699.
Sternberg, J. Robert. Wisdom: its nature, origins, and development. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Print. University College London. "Children and adults see the world differently,research finds." ScienceDaily, 14 Sep. 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100913153630.htm.
(Google.com for definition of intelligence)
Links to Photos:
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=child+smiling+adult+mad&um=1&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=531&tbm=isch&tbnid=QgeCZqa2Ch9tyM:&imgrefurl=http://dadorbust.wordpress.com/&docid=z8pTQuWgQWQ5TM&imgurl=http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j81/Bellazgirl/adorable%252520animals/Smile_baby_Elephant.jpg&w=550&h=413&ei=UEOeTt6TFqbliALttuSVCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=379&vpy=177&dur=15520&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=98&ty=108&sig=103277145499387564140&page=10&tbnh=142&tbnw=182&start=123&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:123 (smiling baby elephant photo)
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=tiny+tim+and+scrooge+jim+carrey&um=1&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=531&tbm=isch&tbnid=JIxiSkEUxQrD2M:&imgrefurl=http://www.allmoviephoto.com/photo/2009_a_christmas_carol_005.html&docid=9FSiW3Fwpy6BUM&imgurl=http://images.allmoviephoto.com/2009_A_Christmas_Carol/2009_a_christmas_carol_005.jpg&w=2940&h=1440&ei=_ESeTuL7DofgiALFtNXdCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=144&vpy=135&dur=520&hovh=157&hovw=321&tx=216&ty=85&sig=103277145499387564140&page=1&tbnh=73&tbnw=172&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0 (Tiny Tim/Scrooge photo)
You did a good job because in my opinion I believe only the older ones are wiser. You're saying of any age so are you saying that a baby can be wise too? This paper is effective because there are opposing sides to it and you had research in there to back up what you were saying. Also the example about the child over hearing the 2 adults arguing was a good example too because I guess you can say only a smart kid could come up with a happy solution for the conflict which were for the 2 adults to hug it out instead of having a divorce but sometimes there's more to it and a simple hug can't fix anything.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your paper, and you used great sources! This is a debatable topic, and you did a great job of proving your side. It is evident that you took time to research this before you wrote your paper. You used examples that everyone could relate to, and I think this strengthened your definition.
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