What is Wisdom essays

What is Wisdom essays Defining wisdom is a difficult and often contentious undertaking. Throughout history, important thinkers like Plato, Thoreau, Pieper, Frankl and Huxley have provided a different understanding of the purpose of life and of the meaning of wisdom itself. Their views have often been fundamentally different. Plato saw wisdom as an external force that could only begin to be seen by human intelligence, while Frankl's understanding of wisdom and meaning is based on a deeply subjective and individualistic understanding. At times, their views have been greatly similar. Thoreau and Huxley both argue that a meaningful life can be found through the capacity for individual choice. The texts also differ greatly in their emphasis on the introspective and spiritual versus the intellectual and rational approach to wisdom and meaning. In the end, perhaps true wisdom can be found through a combination of the careful reflection of the rational and an understanding of the spiritual. A truly wise world view likely encompasses both aspects of rational, intellectual understanding, and an intuitive, spiritual awareness of the world and the self. Plato provides perhaps one of the most ancient understandings of wisdom available in Western literature. In Plato's three works - Apology, Crito and Phaedo - Plato essentially examines Socrates' views on life and wisdom in the context of Socrates' trial (Apology), his time in prison (Crito), and the hours leading to his death (Phaedo). Socrates' skill as a master orator is revealed in Apology, as he convincingly uses the Socratic Method to come to an understanding of wisdom. Socrates is accused of being ""a doer of evil, and corrupter of the youth, and he does not believe in the gods of the state, and has other new divinities of his own" (Plato, Apology). He responds by claiming that he has little or no knowledge to impart, and then goes on to so...