The Importance of Wisdom

By not seeking knowledge and instead choosing ignorance, we are only occupying ourselves with the lowest of pleasures. In Plato’s Republic, he argues,

“Therefore, those who have no experience of reason or virtue, but are always occupied with feasts and the like…never reaching beyond this to what is truly higher up, never looking up at it or being brought up to it, and so aren’t filled with that which really is…Instead, they always look down at the ground like cattle” (Plato, 586a)

By choosing ignorance rather than seeking knowledge, we deprive ourselves of a higher understanding and of higher pleasures.

If the lack of acquiring knowledge is of the lowest type of pleasure, why would some choose it? Going back to the example of the experience machine, why would some people choose to plug in? There would also be some who would choose to plug in because they truly believed that ignorance is preferable to knowledge. I see such beliefs particularly in the Astronomy class I tutor for. Some people would much rather believe that this world, Earth, is all that matters; that we need not question further. They would rather not try to come to an understanding of the universe we are a part of. We are part of something so much greater than this mundane life we live. Yet, to some, this is all they wish to understand. I would suggest such a purpose is foolish. To limit oneself to understanding the bare minimum is unfortunate. However, perhaps in some cases, there would be individuals who were ill who would plug into the machine in order to experience what it meant to not be sick. In which case, perhaps such ignorance could be excused. However, they would still be living in a false world. Outside of this experience machine, they would still be sick. It would not matter that they didn’t feel sick within the illusion. I would also argue that such conditions make people stronger and, in some ways, happier, for they can understand the value of life. Take for example Stephen Hawking. Hawking developed ALS, a type of motor neurone disease, and was only given a couple years to live. Yet, he found happiness in gaining knowledge of the universe. 

Another example would be Albert Einstein. Einstein is recognized mainly by his Theory of Relativity. However, Einstein had Aspergers Syndrome and was also believed to be dyslexic. What if individuals such as Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein decided that this life was not worth living and decided to plug into a machine? Stephen Hawking perhaps would have never discovered such intellect about cosmology and Einstein would have never published his Theory of Relativity. I would suggest that they would have a moral obligation to attribute such knowledge rather than plug into such a machine. I would suggest similar obligations to all individuals. We all have a moral obligation to humanity to seek and distribute knowledge.

 

In some ways, the Ancient Greek philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato agreed. In Plato’s Republic, those who lived in accordance with the virtue of wisdom were likely the philosophers, who were to be the leaders of his ideal state. They contemplated the importance of wisdom and how it led to the virtuous life. In the case of Plato, he believed that it was the virtue which led to live in accordance with the others, ending up in living a just life. He argued that if one lived in accordance with the virtue of wisdom, one would also be moderate and courageous.

We also receive a sense of enlightenment from the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. We get such an experience each time we learn something new, understand new ideas, and learn more about our universe and our place within it. Such concepts of wisdom and mindfulness can be found in the teachings of Buddha. The three pillars within the practice of Buddhism are mindfulness, and wisdom, and virtue. I will be focusing mostly on the first two. By mindfulness, Buddha refers to the attentiveness of the self and the world around us. I would argue such a state of being is important to one’s happiness because in order to understand one’s happiness, one must have an awareness, an enlightenment, of one’s self. The other, wisdom, simply refers to the common sense necessary to make rational decisions. In Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom, Rick Hanson writes, “Then—with time, effort, and skillful means—virtue, mindfulness, and wisdom gradually strengthen and you feel happier and more loving” (Hanson, 15). When we can have an awareness of self and knowledge, we gain happiness because we learn how to appreciate the self and the world around us. Such contentment surely cannot come from ignorance.


Link to my first installment

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