Learning And Wisdom
Montaigne put it best when he said that "If man were wise he would gauge the true worth of anything by its usefulness and appropriateness to his life." Therein lies his distinction between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is stuff like logic, grammer, mathematics, nuclear physics etc.; while wisdom is a much broader and elusive substance - defined broadly as anything which would help a person to live well. Montaigne took living well to be that of living happily and morally.
The distinction is important because Montaigne himself felt that in his schooling, a great deal of knowledge was imparted to him and that he was taught to be "learned but not good or wise" and he emphasized that this was a serious deficiency. He declared that what was important was not to find out "who knew most but rather who knew best" This is rather an interesting pronouncement given the spate of criticism surrounding education in Asia in general and Singapore in particular, with its emphasis on abstract questions and rote learning. This problem seems to be one which has endured over time - from 16th Century France to the present day and it seems to extend beyond the whole debate about creative thinkng and the ilk. Being able to think is more than having knowledge - it is about the ability to reflect and to consider and decide what is right from wrong, what is worthwhile and meaningful, and that is something that is seriously lacking in education today.
On a more personal note, I must admit to long having desired knowledge, seemingly on its own merits. I have a great love of random facts and trivia, and I treasure them for their own sake - as the only saying goes "knowledge for knowledge sake". There is a practical benefit in the accumulation of random facts that I must admit to - that of personal pride. It allows one to (attempt to) impress with the assidously weighted fact or statistic, the telling quip, the random piece of trivia that would (hopefully) elict a favourable response. However, this quickly becomes tiresome if practiced to too great a degree. Given Montaigne's definitions, can I be said to be barking up the wrong tree?
The greater danger that Montaigne put forward is one that is still exceedingly commonly held today - our tendency to try and seem intellectual and cultured by quoting famous writers and thinkers, very often to the detriment of ourselves. Montaigne summarized it best when he said that we are "richer than we think we are, each one of us". The greater irony lay in the fact that he himself resorted to quoting the great philosophers - Seneca, Plato, Aristotle and Cicero - not only when they expressed something he felt in a sublime way which he could not match but in order to "hide his weaknesses behind their great reputations". This is ironic because Montaigne himself has been now put on the same pedestal and feted and quoted along with all of the ancient greats he himself revered. He of all people will be the first to acknowledge the wonderful benefits that a couple of centuries can do to other people appreciating one's work.
Why this is sad is that we often have no real reason to feel inadequate, and often this leads us to look to the accepted greats and mimic them in order to look wise instead of speaking and thinking for ourselves. Indeed, it is quite telling who our own personal interests and thought are often devalued in our own eyes and being insignificant when they seem to contradict some higher intellectually and culturally accepted norm. Montaigne was all too right when he said that we tend to devalue ourselves.
There is a place for knowledge. Facts and learning, what we have accumulated in our study in school and university are the bedrock of everything. True wisdom comes, however, in understanding how we can best lead our lives. In that sense the quest for knowledge is a never-ending one, whilst the quest for wisdom is a continuing journey with changing destinations.
The distinction is important because Montaigne himself felt that in his schooling, a great deal of knowledge was imparted to him and that he was taught to be "learned but not good or wise" and he emphasized that this was a serious deficiency. He declared that what was important was not to find out "who knew most but rather who knew best" This is rather an interesting pronouncement given the spate of criticism surrounding education in Asia in general and Singapore in particular, with its emphasis on abstract questions and rote learning. This problem seems to be one which has endured over time - from 16th Century France to the present day and it seems to extend beyond the whole debate about creative thinkng and the ilk. Being able to think is more than having knowledge - it is about the ability to reflect and to consider and decide what is right from wrong, what is worthwhile and meaningful, and that is something that is seriously lacking in education today.
On a more personal note, I must admit to long having desired knowledge, seemingly on its own merits. I have a great love of random facts and trivia, and I treasure them for their own sake - as the only saying goes "knowledge for knowledge sake". There is a practical benefit in the accumulation of random facts that I must admit to - that of personal pride. It allows one to (attempt to) impress with the assidously weighted fact or statistic, the telling quip, the random piece of trivia that would (hopefully) elict a favourable response. However, this quickly becomes tiresome if practiced to too great a degree. Given Montaigne's definitions, can I be said to be barking up the wrong tree?
The greater danger that Montaigne put forward is one that is still exceedingly commonly held today - our tendency to try and seem intellectual and cultured by quoting famous writers and thinkers, very often to the detriment of ourselves. Montaigne summarized it best when he said that we are "richer than we think we are, each one of us". The greater irony lay in the fact that he himself resorted to quoting the great philosophers - Seneca, Plato, Aristotle and Cicero - not only when they expressed something he felt in a sublime way which he could not match but in order to "hide his weaknesses behind their great reputations". This is ironic because Montaigne himself has been now put on the same pedestal and feted and quoted along with all of the ancient greats he himself revered. He of all people will be the first to acknowledge the wonderful benefits that a couple of centuries can do to other people appreciating one's work.
Why this is sad is that we often have no real reason to feel inadequate, and often this leads us to look to the accepted greats and mimic them in order to look wise instead of speaking and thinking for ourselves. Indeed, it is quite telling who our own personal interests and thought are often devalued in our own eyes and being insignificant when they seem to contradict some higher intellectually and culturally accepted norm. Montaigne was all too right when he said that we tend to devalue ourselves.
There is a place for knowledge. Facts and learning, what we have accumulated in our study in school and university are the bedrock of everything. True wisdom comes, however, in understanding how we can best lead our lives. In that sense the quest for knowledge is a never-ending one, whilst the quest for wisdom is a continuing journey with changing destinations.
posted by Caleb Liu | 3:39 PM
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