"Rejoicing and loving and hating aright."—Aristotle's definition of virtue.
What Is Wisdom
Wisdom is the ability of an understanding to recognise good and evil, it is not knowledge. Knowledge is the recognition of cause and effect, which is independent of good or evil. Realising that a man will die if he has his head removed is knowledge, deciding if a particular decapitation is an accident, a crime or the upholding of justice, is wisdom.
The Crucial Difference Between Wisdom And Knowledge
It is experience which dictates our understanding of cause and effect—knowledge; which makes it the concern of investigation and discovery: the realm of science. But it is morality, the fixed foundation of understanding, that dictates our understanding of meaning—right and wrong: the realm of religion. This is why the recognition of sin is constant and the claims of Revelations endure, while scientific theories vary in the light of new discoveries. Although scientific advancements may obscure the truth and require refinement in Church teachings, such changes are only to the interpretation of, not changes to, the axioms of morality.
The Realms Of The Church And Science
It is not, and never should be, the role of religion to decide upon the
truth or falsity of knowledge. If knowledge appears to contradict
Revelations, then the interpretation of Revelations has strayed into the realm of knowledge and should therefore be modified. Hence it was a failure of duty of the Church when it interfered with Galileo's investigation into the earth's orbit. It was wrong for the Church to interpret Revelations to mean the earth was the actual centre of the universe, and the sun had to orbit the earth. This is the realm of science, which is why the teachings of the Church then produced a temporary denial of truth: an absurdity, which rightfully cast doubt upon the character of Church officials, but inevitably raised doubt about religion as a whole.
Limitations Of Wisdom
The greater the experience, the more extensive the lessons and the better the decisions must become. Hence the older an understanding the larger the experience to draw upon and the wiser the decisions that will result, subject to some crucial limitations:
| 1. Not Absolute Different understandings—different founding values — form different, and often incompatible, beliefs (wisdom). What is wise to one community may be foolish to another. So while knowledge is universal, wisdom is specific to a community. |
| 2. Subject To Senility The chance of dementia, which is loss of the ability to think clearly, increases with age. When an understanding becomes senile its decisions are corrupted by dementia making them valueless, and communities as well as individuals are afflicted by this disease. |
| 3. Constantly Needs Refining The world constantly changes so that previous decisions must be regularly modified in the light of new experience. The communal response is traditionally via the law, which in our community is through common law. Particular instances are put to the courts for them to rule, and so continually refine the existing communal wisdom. |
| 4. Needs A Sane Understanding Wisdom can only be accumulated if the understanding is sane, for an understanding can be sane or insane. |
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