Philosophy - What Is Knowledge

How Should "Wisdom" be Defined?

Philosophy brings up many topics that can be hard to define and further questioned by different individual's theories. William James' describes individual philosophy in his quote as, "so important in each of us....it is not our more or less dumb sense of what life deeply and honestly means. It is only partly got from books; it is our individual way of just seeing and feeling the total push and pressure of the cosmos." An individual, having their own personal beliefs on various topics can make for a very complex analysis to finding what could, or what should be the proper answer to a certain question. One very popular and controversial topic of debate is how one might go about prescribing a definition to the term 'wisdom'. Epistemology is the beginning phase of examining how to define wisdom as one must start with analyzing the question 'what is knowledge?'. Epistemology studies knowledge, its relations to finding truth, the nature of truth, experience, belief, and doubt. Aristotle, one of the most influential philosophers of the topic, evaluates the concept of wisdom in his work Wisdom and Philosophy. Aristotle ultimately breaks wisdom down into theoretical wisdom and practical wisdom, stating that wisdom is the knowledge about certain principles and causes, which I believe is a sound and justified argument in coming to a conclusion on the definition of wisdom.

Description

In this section, I will lay out an outline of the content that will be discussed throughout the paper on defining the term 'wisdom'. In the first part of the paper, a summary of Aristotle's analysis and definition of wisdom will be given. I will discuss how Aristotle distinguishes theoretical vs. practical wisdom, and the different branches of wisdom. I will also discuss Aristotle's differentiating views on knowledge vs. wisdom, and the differences in the types of beings that are knowledgeable vs. wise. In the next section, I will begin my own assessment of Aristotle's view on wisdom, and analyze the benefits and the drawbacks to his arguments. Similarly in the next section, I will go beyond my own assessment of Aristotle's argument of defining wisdom and give my own evaluation as to how one should define the term 'wisdom'. My answer will be strongly supported and I will also provide a real world example/s to justify my definition of the term. The following section will be my own playing of devil's advocate, as I intend to find a weakness in my own argument, and make an objection as to why my definition of wisdom may not be sufficiently strong. WHAT IS MEANT BY RESPONSE TO MY OBJECTION? VERY UNCLEAR, IS IT JUST A CONCLUSION?

Aristotle's Answer

Aristotle begins his analysis of wisdom in his original work Metaphysics, and claims how the concept of philosophy within an individual "starts in wonder and puzzlement and seeks wisdom". Aristotle defines wisdom as "knowledge about certain principles and causes" , and then comes to a point where he breaks down an evaluation of two distinct types of wisdom: theoretical wisdom & practical wisdom. Theoretical wisdom according to Aristotle is that wisdom that allows a being to understand the 'why' to decision-making. On the contrary, practical wisdom is wisdom by which we simply make a certain decision. Aristotle's point of view places theoretical wisdom above practical wisdom, and the main point of emphasis is therefore on knowledge. Aristotle claims a man wise if they know for what reason certain things occur, and not solely the fact that these things do occur. Aristotle discusses the element of the senses, and concludes that senses, such as sight, allow for people to better come to terms with things and potentially conclude the 'why' to a certain principle or cause. He boldly states "we do not regard any of the senses as Wisdom; yet surely these give the most authoritative knowledge of particulars. But they do not tell us the 'why' of anything" as all being have senses, therefore the trait of wisdom cannot be characterized to all beings who share the same features. Aristotle also introduces a series of cognitive states that help to develop a sense of wisdom within a being. These cognitive states begin with the senses that then lead to memories, and once you have multiple memories of a certain instance, one can say that have had an experience. Finally, multiple experiences can lead to one final universal about certain objects that are the outcome of something. From this, Aristolte deducts that "experience is knowledge of individuals" , and experienced men are more knowledgeable than men of practical theory. Aristotle finally comes to a point where he deducts that artists know how to teach the 'why' of a certain cause, because they are the ones that know how to produce that certain outcome. Now that he has pulled all of these aspects together, he reasons