43.1 Wisdom

 43.1 Wisdom

Question:

What is wisdom?

Answer:

Wisdom restrains the wayward mind and leads it away

from the evil to good.                                                       (Couplet – 422)

 

சென்ற இடத்தால் செலவிடா தீதொரீஇ

நன்றின்பால் உய்ப்ப தறிவு.                                 (குறள் – 422)

Explanation:

          In day-to-day conversations, people frequently use the terms ‘learning’, ‘understanding’, ‘knowledge’, ‘intelligence’, and ‘wisdom’. Although people intuitively know the meanings of these terms, they ignore the proper definitions of these terms. Of these terms, ‘learning’ and ‘understanding’ are often used interchangeably. So also, the terms ‘knowledge’ and ‘wisdom’ are often used interchangeably. These terms are difficult to define. Their meanings and definitions may depend upon the context in which they are used. These terms can be described as follows:

Learning can be defined as acquiring knowledge or skills through formal education, self-study, listening to others, or experience. Understanding is to comprehend the intended meaning of what is being learnt.

Although learning is necessary to gain knowledge, it is not sufficient for gaining knowledge. For the learning to be useful, it should be accompanied by a thorough understanding of what has been learnt. For example, schoolchildren learn multiplication by memorizing the ‘times table’. But the fact that they know that 8x7 = 56 does not help them to compute the product of two larger numbers like 1248 times 7865. This is because they have not understood the underlying principle of multiplication. It is not uncommon for students to memorize their lessons in order to regurgitate them in their examinations. Such learning is of limited use to attain real knowledge or for applying what has been learned.

Knowledge is the accumulation of facts and information such that it is meant to be useful. Knowledge is generally gained from learning through formal education, by listening to others, by reading books and other materials, and also from experience. Intelligence can be generally described as the ability to perceive information and to retain it as knowledge to be applied towards adaptive behaviors within an environment or context. Wisdom is the ability to make good judgments based on one’s knowledge, experience, and understanding.

Just like the difference between learning and understanding, there is a vast difference between knowledge and wisdom. To illustrate the difference between knowledge and wisdom, the British journalist Miles Kington said in a humorous way, “It is knowledge to know that tomato is a fruit. But it is wisdom not to use it in a fruit salad.’  There can be no wisdom without knowledge. But it is not uncommon for people to have knowledge without wisdom.