Skip to main content

Knowledge and Wisdom

Image
By

 +

JMJ


I had the following thought a while ago as I read yet another article of the sad state of the world and the viral death spiral of the various humans stuck in the doom loop.

 Man amasses knowledge yet learns nothing. A empty shell with no wisdom.

I'm not certain how to break this down. So ... this I will be relying on the principle of progressive elaboration.

Someone can learn how to use a handgun - that is knowledge.  Then they can decide whether or not to shoot at a steel plate beside them.  That is where wisdom / judgement comes into play.

Those with wisdom know the risks of a ricochet coming back at you. The sound of a bullet twirling in the air as it comes back at you is not comforting, it is terrifying.  The wise man or woman doesn't take the risk.

So the fact is that we are in the midst of one of the worst crises of the Catholic Church. That is probably the worst part - we are surrounded by every aspect of this crisis. The perspective of experience is not available to us. We can't tell if we're nearer the beginning, middle or end.  Without that perspective the only tools we have are the Virtues (link), Dogmas and Doctrines (link) and Principles (link).

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it on a fruit salad

So we use all of the above to give us perspective and one final ingredient: A full spiritual cup (link). 

Once you have the ingredients then you will know the difference between Wisdom and Knowledge.

P^3

Knowledge:

noun: knowledge; plural noun: knowledges
  1. 1.
    facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.
    "a thirst for knowledge"
    Similar:
    understanding
    comprehension
    grasp
    grip
    command
    mastery
    apprehension
    expertise
    skill
    proficiency
    expertness
    accomplishment
    adeptness
    capacity
    capability
    savoir faire
    know-how
    learning
    erudition
    education
    scholarship
    letters
    schooling
    science
    wisdom
    enlightenment
    philosophy
    familiarity with
    acquaintance with
    conversance with
    intimacy with
    information
    facts
    data
    intelligence
    news
    reports
    lore
    info
    lowdown
    gen
    Opposite:
    ignorance
    illiteracy
    • what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information.
      "the transmission of knowledge"
    • PHILOSOPHY
      true, justified belief; certain understanding, as opposed to opinion.
  2. 2.
    awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.
    "the program had been developed without his knowledge"
    Similar:
    awareness
    consciousness
    realization
    recognition
    cognition
    apprehension
    perception
    appreciation
    cognizance
    Opposite:
    unawareness

KNOWLEDGE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Wisdom:

noun
noun: wisdom
  1. the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.
    "listen to his words of wisdom"
    Similar:
    sagacity
    sageness
    intelligence
    understanding
    Opposite:
    • the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.
      "some questioned the wisdom of building the dam so close to an active volcano"
      Similar:
      sagacity
      sageness
      intelligence
      understanding
      Opposite:
    • the body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period.
      plural noun: wisdoms
      "the traditional farming wisdom of India"
      Similar:
      knowledge
      learning
      erudition
      scholarship
Phrases
in someone's wisdom — used ironically to suggest that an action is not well judged.
"in their wisdom they decided to dispense with him"



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If Pope Francis is bad - what about Pope St. John Paul II et al?

By
+ JMJ So here we are on the apparent cusp of yet another post conciliar Papal canonization. This time we have Pope's John-Paul I and Paul VI canonizations to 'look forward' to. This follows, obviously, on the heels of Pope St. John Paul II's canonization? So the first question that I usually encounter is: How is it possible, keeping in mind the doctrine on infallibility of canonizations (note doctrine not dogma), that Pope St. John Paul II is a Saint? First, what does it mean???  According to the doctrine of dogmatic facts - it is the universal opinion of Theologians that canonizations are infallible.  It means that they enjoy the beatific vision.  ... that's it.  That is the doctrine and it is at the level of universal opinion of theologians.  It is called a 'dogmatic fact'. That they made mistakes is obvious.  That the miracles seem to not be very miraculous is also a bit of an issue. Here's something to consider: The rush that surrou...
16 comments
Read more

SSPX: Why Is the SSPX So Criticized?

By
 + JMJ As long as you are ok with what happens in other Catholic Churches, Traditional Catholics will be left 'alone'.  This is a paraphrase of words spoken by an Archbishop to Traditional Catholics (with a sprinkling of SSPX) who had requested the Traditional Latin Mass under Summorum Pontificum. This reflects that attitude of the Church towards anyone who takes issue with some of the ambiguities of Vatican II and the post-conciliar magisterium.  If you reject the papacy but are ok with V2, the New Mass, and what Rome has stated since 1965 - then you are welcome. Question some of the more abiguous statements and ask for Rome to realise that a circle is not a square - then you are in for a world of hurt. This is where the SSPX exists and has existed from almost its very first moments. Pointing out contradictions with previous magisterium is not acceptable - under any condition. Why? Because it will cause the whole V2 house of cards to fall. I guess only when the contradic...
Post a Comment
Read more

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

By
+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3
Post a Comment
Read more

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

By
Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making.  It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX.  The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience.  The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members.  It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...
8 comments
Read more

How Much Disobedience Constitutes Schism? - A Remnant Article

By
I came across this old article in one of my searches and thought, since there is talk of schism in the air ... concerning the SSPX and not the German Bishops Conference ... it would good to post it here. Addendum: More on Schism by Tantamergo. Courtesy of the Remnant How Much Disobedience Constitutes  Schism ? Fr. Brian W. Harrison, O.S. GUEST COLUMNIST, Puerto Rico
Post a Comment
Read more