I do not know what wisdom is, but for most of my life I have been researching this perplexing topic. Recently, Unknowings co-editor LInda Joy Stone introduced me to an intriguing new term, crazy wisdom, based on a book by Wes Nisker. That adds interesting new territory that I hope to explore sometime.
My introduction to wisdom was while I was still a teenager. I had joined a benign Christian cult and I did serious Bible study. Proverbs soon became my favorite book.
Proverbs 4:6-7
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
At midlife I lost my Christian faith but I continued my pursuit of wisdom. My church had taught me to seek the wisdom of God and avoid the wisdom of this world. We were particularly warned to avoid psychology and philosophy. As I exited the cult and gained my freedom, I had a thirst for exploring those previously forbidden subjects. My hunger and thirst for learning about wisdom continues now as I enjoy my retirement years.
I discovered I liked philosophy, which means "love of wisdom". I read books by Mortimer J. Adler, Mary Midgley and many others. I found philosophy books quite challenging but they were also helpful as I built a new worldview. Later, as technology changed, I explored philosophically oriented websites, blogs and podcasts.
At midlife, I became interested in the conflict between science and philosophy. I read Science as Salvation - A Modern Myth and its Meaning by Mary Midgley and this book influenced me greatly. I became aware of her long conflict with Richard Dawkins. Both of these people seem to be very intelligent and very well educated. Intuitively, it seems to me that Midgley has considerable wisdom while Dawkins lacked it.
In 2010 the brilliant physicist Stephen Hawking caused an uproar when he pronounced philosophy dead. By so doing, he made clear that there is no relationship between intelligence and wisdom. Foolishly, he tried to defend his statement.
Another book that influenced me was The Passion of the Western Mind - Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our World View by Richard Tarnas. I began seeing myself as someone proud of what western minds had built. I began to self-identify as a secular humanist and I believed that the incremental progress of western civilization was the best path forward.
Early in retirement, something unexpected happened which changed the trajectory of my life. I read Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris. That awakened in me an interest in secular spirituality, again, new territory to explore. But I did not retain Harris as a guide. While I think he is very clear-minded, obviously very intelligent and well educated, I would not attribute the nebulous attribute of wisdom to him.
I did begin to look into secular Buddhism. I quickly realized that an eastern mind looks at the world quite differently from a western mind. I realized that the concept of wisdom looked different depending which lens was used. At midlife I realized that I had not been wise, ending up in a cult. Twenty-five years later I began to realize that I had not been wise looking only through western eyes.
I began to scan spiritual teachers, past and present, for wisdom. I found lots of pearls of wisdom, pithy sayings that seemed to be saying important things. But all such teachers seemed to have an incomplete picture of wisdom, and a few seemed to be foolish, even dangerous.
Once again I am at a juncture in my journey looking for the promised land of wisdom. My focus now is on the collective wisdom of average and ordinary people. I am inspired by the vision of building a global brain. Each of us is unique and have something to contribute. I am hoping that Unknowings will become one tiny node in the global brain.
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