"wisdom is knowledge and good judgment based on experience; being wise. 2. wise conduct; wise words. 3. scholarly knowledge."
it seems to me that the dictionary's authors have relied upon an extraverted measure of wisdom based upon what can be known about another's thoughts and actions. however, a person's wisdom need not always to be seen for it to be present in significant measure. how, then, can one approach such an extremely complicated and ephemeral state such as wisdom?
one approach bases itself upon the fact that any concept which has a significant unknown aspect can be approached through antinomies -- the presentation of two sides which appear to be opposition with each other. when one defines the phenomenon of wisdom solely by measurable, earthly standards only one pole is used -- the material pole and the other dimension -- the spirtual pole, or what we might call the "its unknown dimension" that is present in any wise action whether it be in word or deed -- is ignored. while a one-sided definition may work in some situation, in others it distorts the reality of the situation. it is this "unknown dimension" of wisdom, what we might also call its introverted side, that i wish to emphasize now.
i might say without much risk of over-stating my case that the missing dimension in western life is the acceptance that balanced wisdom, the term i am using to express wisdom that includes the above two poles, requires a transaction with wisdom's opposites, that is, its antinomian nature. i have presented five antinomies of wisdom for you to consider:
earthly (material / instinctual / lumen naturae) and spiritual (its unknown aspects / archetypal / lumen dei)
individual and collective
knowledge and relationship
wisdom and foolishness
good and evil
traditional judeo-christian religion speaks much about wisdom, the chief text being embodied in the book of proverbs, which i conside to be the "primer" on helping one understand wisdom's unknown pole. one cannot go very far in their understanding or growth in wisdom if they completely disregard a statements in proverbs like: "the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom" (prov. 1:6). whether one is religious or not, an understanding of and a non-denigrating attitude -- toward wisdom's unknown pole demands an serious exploration of a relationship with the imago dei, for how else can one fully grasp that in the scriptures, wisdom is personified or embodied. through personification we can relationally embrace wisdom rather than it being solely an abstract knowledge or be left as only a "definable goal." it is my opinion that wisdom can be embraced and loved only when it is personified. one might call this "the engaging wisdom's heat" to distinguish it from the cooler aspects of embracing wisdom only as concept.
