Our Wisdom Deficit.
There is much wisdom available to us today; in fact, with the vast reaches of the Internet, I would venture to guess that we have access to more wisdom that ever before in human history.
So why are we so unwise in our public and political discourse? Why are we tribally hunkered down in a sea of distortions, half-truths and outright lies?
It's a critical question for our society and our republic.
The Stoics were focused on wisdom as the operating system for a productive and happy life -- the core virtue from which everything else flows. To be wise is to be able to reason well about life, to think rationally about the world around you, and to understand the difference between fact and fiction. Wisdom allows you to judge what is good, what is bad, and what is indifferent. It's a lens that keeps you focused on the other Stoic virtues -- justice, courage, and moderation.
The most essential element of living a life of wisdom is to understand what is and is not in your control.
“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own”?—?Epictetus
This can be extended to the notion of your own intellectual honesty: What do you truly know and what do you not? How many so-called "experts" are opining about the world who have no business doing so, who know little-to-nothing about that which they write and talk about? The lack of wisdom in our society today comes from the hubris of believing you know better than others, allowing the virus of emotion to infect rational thought, with the resulting certitude a cudgel with which to batter those you disagree with.
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Fortunately, you can find wisdom close to home -- just look in the mirror. You can be wise every day by checking your biases, being honest about yourself and your limitations, and striving to use your power of reason to reject that which is jingoistic, simplistic, and tribal.
Don't succumb to the emotional mob. Instead, think critically and objectively.
Deploy the reason that God gave you.
It's not going to solve the problem all at once.
But it's a start.
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Ken Davenport is the author most recently of The Stoic Transition: A Guide.
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11 个月There's a famous saying, God give me courage to change that I can, patience that I can't; and wisdom to to distinguish the two. That's the reason why in Vedic wisdom, there's more emphasis on "solitude and silence" while looking inwards rather than looking outward when you age. That's the way to Kundalini Yoga.
President and Founding Partner at LJG Digital, Inc.
1 年Ken, always great thoughts to ponder. Wisdom is all around us and easily accessible -- true, but there is also a lot of nonsense around us as well. I completely agree with this line: "To be wise is to be able to reason well about life, to think rationally about the world around you, and to understand the difference between fact and fiction." Sometimes I feel like it's still the era when you and I grew up watching television. Many of us end up looking at the same three or four channels. We live in silos regardless of an overabundance of sources of information and knowledge. And it doesn't help when our leaders are not honest. That's another topic for another day (please do a post on this)! :) To be wise is to be able to reason well about life, to think rationally about the world around you, and to understand the difference between fact and fiction. Amen.