160-517: Wisdom ( sapience , sagacity ) is the use of one's knowledge and experience to make good judgements. Wisdom is the interpreting and understanding of knowledge that leads to greater insight (e.g., common sense ). Wisdom is a pragmatic kind of " praxis (process) " where one is constantly using metacognition . The wise ones have equanimity (psychological stability) through tough times and an acceptance of reality. Wise ones use active and reflective listening, temperance (virtue) , and
320-610: A "return" to their natural state, in harmony with Tao. Language and conventional wisdom are critically assessed. Taoism views them as inherently biased and artificial, widely using paradoxes to sharpen the point. Wu wei , literally 'non-action' or 'not acting', is a central concept of the Tao Te Ching . The concept of wu wei is multifaceted, and reflected in the words' multiple meanings, even in English translation; it can mean "not doing anything", "not forcing", "not acting" in
480-453: A balance between intrapersonal, interpersonal and institutional interests can be prepared". Balance appears to be a critical criterion of wisdom. Empirical research provides some support for this idea, showing that wisdom-related reasoning is associated with achieving balance between intrapersonal and interpersonal interests when facing personal life challenges, and when setting goals for managing interpersonal conflicts. Researchers also explore
640-407: A belief if this belief is to amount to knowledge. When the belief is challenged, the person may justify it by referring to their reason for holding it. In many cases, this reason depends itself on another belief that may as well be challenged. An example is a person who believes that Ford cars are cheaper than BMWs. When their belief is challenged, they may justify it by claiming that they heard it from
800-474: A belief is involved. The main controversy surrounding this definition concerns its third feature: justification. This component is often included because of the impression that some true beliefs are not forms of knowledge, such as beliefs based on superstition , lucky guesses, or erroneous reasoning . For example, a person who guesses that a coin flip will land heads usually does not know that even if their belief turns out to be true. This indicates that there
960-461: A broad social phenomenon that is similar to culture. The term may further denote knowledge stored in documents like the "knowledge housed in the library" or the knowledge base of an expert system . Knowledge is closely related to intelligence , but intelligence is more about the ability to acquire, process, and apply information, while knowledge concerns information and skills that a person already possesses. The word knowledge has its roots in
1120-453: A broad understanding of situations, and greater appreciation/compassion towards other living beings. The word sapience is derived from the Latin sapientia , meaning "wisdom". The corresponding verb sapere has the original meaning of "to taste", hence "to perceive, to discern" and "to know"; its present participle sapiens was chosen by Carl Linnaeus for the Latin binomial for
1280-572: A certain way ( causality ), which is deeper than merely knowing things are a certain way. He was the first to make the distinction between phronesis and sophia . According to Plato and Xenophon , the Pythia of the Delphic Oracle answered the question "who is the wisest man in Greece?" by stating Socrates was the wisest. According to Plato's Apology , Socrates decided to investigate
1440-405: A complex web of interconnected ideas that is justified by its coherence rather than by a few privileged foundational beliefs. One difficulty for this view is how to demonstrate that it does not involve the fallacy of circular reasoning . If two beliefs mutually support each other then a person has a reason for accepting one belief if they already have the other. However, mutual support alone is not
1600-573: A controlled experiment to compare whether predictions based on the hypothesis match the observed results. As a last step, the results are interpreted and a conclusion is reached whether and to what degree the findings confirm or disconfirm the hypothesis. The empirical sciences are usually divided into natural and social sciences . The natural sciences, like physics , biology , and chemistry , focus on quantitative research methods to arrive at knowledge about natural phenomena. Quantitative research happens by making precise numerical measurements and
1760-488: A cup of coffee made by a reliable coffee machine has the same value as an equally good cup of coffee made by an unreliable coffee machine. This difficulty in solving the value problem is sometimes used as an argument against reliabilism. Virtue epistemology, by contrast, offers a unique solution to the value problem. Virtue epistemologists see knowledge as the manifestation of cognitive virtues. They hold that knowledge has additional value due to its association with virtue. This
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#17327648946641920-541: A deity emanating from Ahura ( Amesha Spenta ). It is related to another ahura deity, Spenta Mainyu (active Mentality). It says in Yazna 31: To him shall the best befall, who, as one that knows, speaks to me Right's truthful word of Welfare and of Immortality; even the Dominion of Mazda which Good Thought shall increase for him. About which he in the beginning thus thought, "let the blessed realms be filled with Light", he it
2080-519: A form of inevitable ignorance that can affect both what is knowable about the external world as well as what one can know about oneself and about what is good. Some limits of knowledge only apply to particular people in specific situations while others pertain to humanity at large. A fact is unknowable to a person if this person lacks access to the relevant information, like facts in the past that did not leave any significant traces. For example, it may be unknowable to people today what Caesar 's breakfast
2240-585: A foundation in Chinese language and philosophy who are trying to render the original meaning of the text as faithfully as possible into English. Some of the more popular translations are written from a less scholarly perspective, giving an individual author's interpretation. Critics of these versions claim that their translators deviate from the text and are incompatible with the history of Chinese thought. Russell Kirkland goes further to argue that these versions are based on Western Orientalist fantasies and represent
2400-461: A god of wisdom, designated as the conductor of the Muses ( Musagetes ), who were personifications of the sciences and of the inspired and poetic arts. According to Plato in his Cratylus , the name of Apollo could also mean " ballon " (archer) and " omopoulon " (unifier of poles [divine and earthly]), since this god was responsible for divine and true inspirations, thus considered an archer who
2560-477: A good reason for newly accepting both beliefs at once. A closely related issue is that there can be distinct sets of coherent beliefs. Coherentists face the problem of explaining why someone should accept one coherent set rather than another. For infinitists, in contrast to foundationalists and coherentists, there is an infinite number of reasons. This view embraces the idea that there is a regress since each reason depends on another reason. One difficulty for this view
2720-564: A lesser degree) spirituality . In the Avesta Gathas , hymns traditionally attributed to Zoroaster , Ahura Mazda means "Lord" (Ahura) and "Wisdom" (Mazda), and is the central deity who embodies goodness, being also called "Good Thought" ( Vohu Manah ). In Zoroastrianism , the order of the universe and morals is called asha (in Avestan , truth, righteousness), which is determined by this omniscient Thought and also considered
2880-430: A letter, a newspaper, or a blog . The problem of testimony consists in clarifying why and under what circumstances testimony can lead to knowledge. A common response is that it depends on the reliability of the person pronouncing the testimony: only testimony from reliable sources can lead to knowledge. The problem of the limits of knowledge concerns the question of which facts are unknowable . These limits constitute
3040-566: A more explicit structure and is not articulated in terms of universal ideas. The term is often used in feminism and postmodernism to argue that many forms of knowledge are not absolute but depend on the concrete historical, cultural, and linguistic context. Explicit knowledge is knowledge that can be fully articulated, shared, and explained, like the knowledge of historical dates and mathematical formulas. It can be acquired through traditional learning methods, such as reading books and attending lectures. It contrasts with tacit knowledge , which
3200-469: A negative sense: many see it as a serious challenge to any epistemological theory and often try to show how their preferred theory overcomes it. Another form of philosophical skepticism advocates the suspension of judgment as a form of attaining tranquility while remaining humble and open-minded . A less radical limit of knowledge is identified by fallibilists , who argue that the possibility of error can never be fully excluded. This means that even
3360-489: A negative value. For example, if a person's life depends on gathering the courage to jump over a ravine, then having a true belief about the involved dangers may hinder them from doing so. Besides having instrumental value, knowledge may also have intrinsic value . This means that some forms of knowledge are good in themselves even if they do not provide any practical benefits. According to philosopher Duncan Pritchard , this applies to forms of knowledge linked to wisdom . It
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#17327648946643520-519: A pain or to confuse the experience of a slight ellipse for the experience of a circle. Perceptual and introspective knowledge often act as a form of fundamental or basic knowledge. According to some empiricists , they are the only sources of basic knowledge and provide the foundation for all other knowledge. Memory differs from perception and introspection in that it is not as independent or basic as they are since it depends on other previous experiences. The faculty of memory retains knowledge acquired in
3680-520: A person knows that cats have whiskers then this knowledge is dispositional most of the time and becomes occurrent while they are thinking about it. Many forms of Eastern spirituality and religion distinguish between higher and lower knowledge. They are also referred to as para vidya and apara vidya in Hinduism or the two truths doctrine in Buddhism . Lower knowledge is based on the senses and
3840-463: A person's ability to deal wisely with complex events. One study found a positive relationship between diversity of emotional experience and wise reasoning, irrespective of emotional intensity. Peterson & Seligman state that perspective is a strength of wisdom (e.g., sage advice). Grossmann and colleagues summarized prior psychological literature to conclude that wisdom involves certain cognitive processes that afford unbiased , sound judgment in
4000-465: A political level, it means avoiding such circumstances as war, harsh laws and heavy taxes. Some Taoists see a connection between wu wei and esoteric practices, such as zuowang ('sitting in oblivion': emptying the mind of bodily awareness and thought) found in the Zhuangzi . The Tao Te Ching is a text of around 5,162 to 5,450 Chinese characters in 81 brief chapters or sections ( 章 ). There
4160-556: A practically useful characterization. Another approach, termed analysis of knowledge , tries to provide a theoretically precise definition by listing the conditions that are individually necessary and jointly sufficient , similar to how chemists analyze a sample by seeking a list of all the chemical elements composing it. According to a different view, knowledge is a unique state that cannot be analyzed in terms of other phenomena. Some scholars base their definition on abstract intuitions while others focus on concrete cases or rely on how
4320-472: A practice that aims to produce habits of action. There is still very little consensus in the academic discourse as to which of the proposed modifications or reconceptualizations is correct, and there are various alternative definitions of knowledge . A common distinction among types of knowledge is between propositional knowledge, or knowledge-that, and non-propositional knowledge in the form of practical skills or acquaintance. Other distinctions focus on how
4480-468: A priori knowledge exists as innate knowledge present in the mind of each human. A further approach posits a special mental faculty responsible for this type of knowledge, often referred to as rational intuition or rational insight. Various other types of knowledge are discussed in the academic literature. In philosophy, "self-knowledge" refers to a person's knowledge of their own sensations , thoughts , beliefs, and other mental states. A common view
4640-442: A proposition, one has to be acquainted with its constituents. The distinction between a priori and a posteriori knowledge depends on the role of experience in the processes of formation and justification. To know something a posteriori means to know it based on experience. For example, by seeing that it rains outside or hearing that the baby is crying, one acquires a posteriori knowledge of these facts. A priori knowledge
4800-536: A reliable source. This justification depends on the assumption that their source is reliable, which may itself be challenged. The same may apply to any subsequent reason they cite. This threatens to lead to an infinite regress since the epistemic status at each step depends on the epistemic status of the previous step. Theories of the structure of knowledge offer responses for how to solve this problem. Three traditional theories are foundationalism , coherentism , and infinitism . Foundationalists and coherentists deny
4960-414: A slightly different sense, self-knowledge can also refer to knowledge of the self as a persisting entity with certain personality traits , preferences , physical attributes, relationships, goals, and social identities . Metaknowledge is knowledge about knowledge. It can arise in the form of self-knowledge but includes other types as well, such as knowing what someone else knows or what information
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5120-405: A specific domain and is only possessed by experts. Situated knowledge is knowledge specific to a particular situation. It is closely related to practical or tacit knowledge, which is learned and applied in specific circumstances. This especially concerns certain forms of acquiring knowledge, such as trial and error or learning from experience. In this regard, situated knowledge usually lacks
5280-427: A sufficient degree of coherence among all the mental states of the believer is necessary for knowledge. According to infinitism, an infinite chain of beliefs is needed. The main discipline investigating knowledge is epistemology , which studies what people know, how they come to know it, and what it means to know something. It discusses the value of knowledge and the thesis of philosophical skepticism , which questions
5440-423: A that-clause. Propositional knowledge takes the form of mental representations involving concepts, ideas, theories, and general rules. These representations connect the knower to certain parts of reality by showing what they are like. They are often context-independent, meaning that they are not restricted to a specific use or purpose. Propositional knowledge encompasses both knowledge of specific facts, like that
5600-542: A wide range of versions dating back a century or two. Benjamin I. Schwartz still considered it remarkably unified by the time of the Mawangdui silk texts , even if these versions swap the two halves of the text. Linguistic studies of the Tao Te Ching ' s vocabulary and rime scheme point to a date of composition after the Classic of Poetry , but before the Zhuangzi , and would generally be taken as preceding
5760-551: A wise rhetoric . Wisdom is associated with compromise , intellectual humility , acceptance of uncertainty , and a cosmopolitanism of what is Good . Wisdom contains virtues such as ethics and benevolence . Wisdom is personified as femininity (i.e., Sophia ). Wisdom has been defined in many different ways, and there are several distinct approaches to assessing the characteristics attributed to wisdom. Charles Haddon Spurgeon defined wisdom as "the right use of knowledge ". Robert I. Sutton and Andrew Hargadon defined
5920-531: Is hikmah . Prophets of Islam are believed by Muslims to possess great wisdom. The term occurs a number of times in the Quran , notably in Sura 2 :269, Sura 22 :46, and Sura 6 :151. Knowledge Knowledge is an awareness of facts , a familiarity with individuals and situations , or a practical skill . Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often characterized as true belief that
6080-434: Is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism traditionally credited to the sage Laozi , though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion dates to the late 4th century BC. The Tao Te Ching is central to both philosophical and religious Taoism, and has been highly influential to Chinese philosophy and religious practice in general. It
6240-500: Is a Hebrew word for "future," but also the Hebrew word for "birth", so one rabbinic interpretation of the teaching is that a wise person is one who can foresee the consequences of his/her choices (i.e. can "see the future" that he/she "gives birth" to). In Christian theology , "wisdom" (From Hebrew : חכמה transliteration: chokmâh pronounced: khok-maw', Greek : Sophia , Latin : Sapientia ) describes an aspect of God, or
6400-531: Is a famous puzzle which everyone would like to feel he had solved." The first English translation of the Tao Te Ching was produced in 1868 by the Scottish Protestant missionary John Chalmers , entitled The Speculations on Metaphysics, Polity, and Morality of the "Old Philosopher" Lau-tsze . It was heavily indebted to Julien 's French translation and dedicated to James Legge , who later produced his own translation for Oxford's Sacred Books of
6560-461: Is a widely accepted feature of knowledge. It implies that, while it may be possible to believe something false, one cannot know something false. That knowledge is a form of belief implies that one cannot know something if one does not believe it. Some everyday expressions seem to violate this principle, like the claim that "I do not believe it, I know it!" But the point of such expressions is usually to emphasize one's confidence rather than denying that
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6720-434: Is able to pass that exam or by knowing which horse is the fastest, one can earn money from bets. In these cases, knowledge has instrumental value . Not all forms of knowledge are useful and many beliefs about trivial matters have no instrumental value. This concerns, for example, knowing how many grains of sand are on a specific beach or memorizing phone numbers one never intends to call. In a few cases, knowledge may even have
6880-464: Is all meaningless. "'Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher [Solomon]. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless'...For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, the more knowledge, the more grief" Solomon concludes that all life's pleasures and riches, and even [human]wisdom, mean nothing if there is no relationship with God. The Talmud teaches that a wise person can foresee the future. Nolad
7040-411: Is already true. The problem of the value of knowledge is often discussed in relation to reliabilism and virtue epistemology . Reliabilism can be defined as the thesis that knowledge is reliably formed true belief. This view has difficulties in explaining why knowledge is valuable or how a reliable belief-forming process adds additional value. According to an analogy by philosopher Linda Zagzebski ,
7200-420: Is also referred to as knowledge-that , as in "Akari knows that kangaroos hop". In this case, Akari stands in the relation of knowing to the proposition "kangaroos hop". Closely related types of knowledge are know-wh , for example, knowing who is coming to dinner and knowing why they are coming. These expressions are normally understood as types of propositional knowledge since they can be paraphrased using
7360-564: Is an active process in which sensory signals are selected, organized, and interpreted to form a representation of the environment. This leads in some cases to illusions that misrepresent certain aspects of reality, like the Müller-Lyer illusion and the Ponzo illusion . Introspection is often seen in analogy to perception as a source of knowledge, not of external physical objects, but of internal mental states . A traditionally common view
7520-446: Is an overlap of the implicit theory of wisdom with intelligence, perceptiveness, spirituality, and shrewdness, it is evident that wisdom is an expertise in dealing with difficult questions of life and adaptation to the complex requirements." The field of psychology has also developed explicit theories and empirical research on the psychological processes underlying wisdom. Opinions on the psychological definition of wisdom vary, but there
7680-552: Is applied to draw inferences from other known facts. For example, the perceptual knowledge of a Czech stamp on a postcard may give rise to the inferential knowledge that one's friend is visiting the Czech Republic. This type of knowledge depends on other sources of knowledge responsible for the premises. Some rationalists argue for rational intuition as a further source of knowledge that does not rely on observation and introspection. They hold for example that some beliefs, like
7840-528: Is argued that there is no perceptual knowledge of the external world. This thought experiment is based on the problem of underdetermination , which arises when the available evidence is not sufficient to make a rational decision between competing theories. In such cases, a person is not justified in believing one theory rather than the other. If this is always the case then global skepticism follows. Another skeptical argument assumes that knowledge requires absolute certainty and aims to show that all human cognition
8000-512: Is at home". Other types of knowledge include knowledge-how in the form of practical competence , as in "she knows how to swim", and knowledge by acquaintance as a familiarity with the known object based on previous direct experience, like knowing someone personally. Knowledge is often understood as a state of an individual person, but it can also refer to a characteristic of a group of people as group knowledge, social knowledge, or collective knowledge. Some social sciences understand knowledge as
8160-401: Is based on the idea that cognitive success in the form of the manifestation of virtues is inherently valuable independent of whether the resulting states are instrumentally useful. Acquiring and transmitting knowledge often comes with certain costs, such as the material resources required to obtain new information and the time and energy needed to understand it. For this reason, an awareness of
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#17327648946648320-406: Is both theoretically and empirically distinct from general (fluid or crystallized) intelligence. Researchers have shown empirically that wise reasoning is distinct from IQ . Baltes and colleagues defined wisdom as "the ability to deal with the contradictions of a specific situation and to assess the consequences of an action for themselves and for others. It is achieved when in a concrete situation,
8480-427: Is called epistemology or the theory of knowledge. It examines the nature of knowledge and justification, how knowledge arises, and what value it has. Further topics include the different types of knowledge and the limits of what can be known. Despite agreements about the general characteristics of knowledge, its exact definition is disputed. Some definitions only focus on the most salient features of knowledge to give
8640-518: Is canonically considered one of the pillars of the films' Jedi knights , something expanded upon in the non-canon book The Jedi Path , and wisdom can serve as a tenet for Jediism . The Jedi Code states: "Ignorance, yet knowledge." In a psychology populational study published by Grossmann and team in 2019, respondents considered Yoda to be wiser than Spock , a fictional character from the Star Trek series, due to Spock's blind spot for emotion, which
8800-412: Is circular and requires interpretation, which implies that knowledge does not need a secure foundation. Coherentists and infinitists avoid these problems by denying the contrast between basic and non-basic reasons. Coherentists argue that there is only a finite number of reasons, which mutually support and justify one another. This is based on the intuition that beliefs do not exist in isolation but form
8960-608: Is contained in a scientific article. Other aspects of metaknowledge include knowing how knowledge can be acquired, stored, distributed, and used. Common knowledge is knowledge that is publicly known and shared by most individuals within a community. It establishes a common ground for communication, understanding, social cohesion, and cooperation. General knowledge encompasses common knowledge but also includes knowledge that many people have been exposed to but may not be able to immediately recall. Common knowledge contrasts with domain knowledge or specialized knowledge, which belongs to
9120-460: Is controversial whether all knowledge has intrinsic value, including knowledge about trivial facts like knowing whether the biggest apple tree had an even number of leaves yesterday morning. One view in favor of the intrinsic value of knowledge states that having no belief about a matter is a neutral state and knowledge is always better than this neutral state, even if the value difference is only minimal. A more specific issue in epistemology concerns
9280-408: Is distinct from opinion or guesswork by virtue of justification . While there is wide agreement among philosophers that propositional knowledge is a form of true belief, many controversies focus on justification. This includes questions like how to understand justification, whether it is needed at all, and whether something else besides it is needed. These controversies intensified in the latter half of
9440-453: Is fallible since it fails to meet this standard. An influential argument against radical skepticism states that radical skepticism is self-contradictory since denying the existence of knowledge is itself a knowledge-claim. Other arguments rely on common sense or deny that infallibility is required for knowledge. Very few philosophers have explicitly defended radical skepticism but this position has been influential nonetheless, usually in
9600-461: Is generally taken as preceding the Zhuangzi , the other core Taoist text, as suggested by the Zhuangzi itself. Terminology originating within the text has been reinterpreted and elaborated upon by Legalist thinkers , Confucianists , and particularly Chinese Buddhists , which had been introduced to China significantly after the initial solidification of Taoist thought. The text is well known in
9760-409: Is impossible, meaning that one cannot know what is morally good or whether a certain behavior is morally right. An influential theory about the limits of metaphysical knowledge was proposed by Immanuel Kant . For him, knowledge is restricted to the field of appearances and does not reach the things in themselves , which exist independently of humans and lie beyond the realm of appearances. Based on
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#17327648946649920-415: Is knowledge acquired because of specific social and cultural circumstances, such as knowing how to read and write. Knowledge can be occurrent or dispositional . Occurrent knowledge is knowledge that is actively involved in cognitive processes. Dispositional knowledge, by contrast, lies dormant in the back of a person's mind and is given by the mere ability to access the relevant information. For example, if
10080-411: Is laconic, and has few grammatical particles . While the ideas are singular, the style is poetic, combining two major strategies: short, declarative statements, and intentional contradictions, encouraging varied, contradictory interpretations. The first of these strategies creates memorable phrases, while the second forces the reader to reconcile supposed contradictions. With a partial reconstruction of
10240-553: Is more to knowledge than just being right about something. These cases are excluded by requiring that beliefs have justification for them to count as knowledge. Some philosophers hold that a belief is justified if it is based on evidence , which can take the form of mental states like experience, memory , and other beliefs. Others state that beliefs are justified if they are produced by reliable processes, like sensory perception or logical reasoning. The definition of knowledge as justified true belief came under severe criticism in
10400-586: Is needed to answer this question, while most studies rely on cross-sectional observations. The Jeste-Thomas Wisdom Index is based on a 28-question survey (SD-WISE-28) created by researchers at the University of California San Diego to determine how wise a person is. In 2021 Dr. Dilip V. Jeste and his colleagues created a 7-question survey (SD-WISE-7) testing seven components: acceptance of diverse perspectives, decisiveness , emotional regulation , prosocial behaviors , self-reflection , social advising, and (to
10560-472: Is not aware of this, stops in front of the real barn by a lucky coincidence, and forms the justified true belief that they are in front of a barn. This example aims to establish that the person does not know that they are in front of a real barn, since they would not have been able to tell the difference. This means that it is a lucky coincidence that this justified belief is also true. According to some philosophers, these counterexamples show that justification
10720-552: Is not easily articulated or explained to others, like the ability to recognize someone's face and the practical expertise of a master craftsman. Tacit knowledge is often learned through first-hand experience or direct practice. Cognitive load theory distinguishes between biologically primary and secondary knowledge. Biologically primary knowledge is knowledge that humans have as part of their evolutionary heritage, such as knowing how to recognize faces and speech and many general problem-solving capacities. Biologically secondary knowledge
10880-415: Is not possible to know them because if a person knew about such an idea then this idea would have occurred at least to them. There are many disputes about what can or cannot be known in certain fields. Religious skepticism is the view that beliefs about God or other religious doctrines do not amount to knowledge. Moral skepticism encompasses a variety of views, including the claim that moral knowledge
11040-453: Is not required for knowledge and that knowledge should instead be characterized in terms of reliability or the manifestation of cognitive virtues . Another approach defines knowledge in regard to the function it plays in cognitive processes as that which provides reasons for thinking or doing something. A different response accepts justification as an aspect of knowledge and include additional criteria. Many candidates have been suggested, like
11200-584: Is only extant for the Te Ching , derives from a commentary attributed to Han dynasty scholar Yan Zun ( 巖尊 , fl. 80 BC – 10 AD ). The "Heshang Gong" version is named after the legendary Heshang Gong ('legendary sage'), who supposedly lived during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han (180–157 BC). This commentary has a preface written by Ge Xuan (164–244 AD), granduncle of Ge Hong , and scholarship dates this version to c. the 3rd century AD . The origins of
11360-404: Is possible without any experience to justify or support the known proposition. Mathematical knowledge, such as that 2 + 2 = 4, is traditionally taken to be a priori knowledge since no empirical investigation is necessary to confirm this fact. In this regard, a posteriori knowledge is empirical knowledge while a priori knowledge is non-empirical knowledge. The relevant experience in question
11520-446: Is primarily identified with sensory experience . Some non-sensory experiences, like memory and introspection, are often included as well. Some conscious phenomena are excluded from the relevant experience, like rational insight. For example, conscious thought processes may be required to arrive at a priori knowledge regarding the solution of mathematical problems, like when performing mental arithmetic to multiply two numbers. The same
11680-414: Is public, reliable, and replicable. This way, other researchers can repeat the experiments and observations in the initial study to confirm or disconfirm it. The scientific method is often analyzed as a series of steps that begins with regular observation and data collection. Based on these insights, scientists then try to find a hypothesis that explains the observations. The hypothesis is then tested using
11840-508: Is some consensus that critical to wisdom are certain meta-cognitive processes that afford life reflection and judgment about critical life matters. These processes include recognizing the limits of one's own knowledge, acknowledging uncertainty and change, attention to context and the bigger picture, and integrating different perspectives of a situation. Cognitive scientists suggest that wisdom requires coordinating such reasoning processes for insight into managing one's life. Reasoning of this sort
12000-456: Is some evidence that the chapter divisions were later additions—for commentary, or as aids to rote memorisation—and that the original text was more fluidly organised. It has two parts, the Tao Ching ( 道經 ; chapters 1–37) and the Te Ching ( 德經 ; chapters 38–81), which may have been edited together into the received text, possibly reversed from an original Te Tao Ching . The written style
12160-403: Is that by his wisdom created Right. In Baháʼí Faith scripture, "The essence of wisdom is the fear of God, the dread of His scourge and punishment, and the apprehension of His justice and decree." Wisdom is seen as a light that casts away darkness, and "its dictates must be observed under all circumstances". One may obtain knowledge and wisdom through God, his Word, and his Divine Manifestation ;
12320-404: Is that inquiry should not aim for truth or absolute certainty but for well-supported and justified beliefs while remaining open to the possibility that one's beliefs may need to be revised later. The structure of knowledge is the way in which the mental states of a person need to be related to each other for knowledge to arise. A common view is that a person has to have good reasons for holding
12480-413: Is that introspection has a special epistemic status by being infallible. According to this position, it is not possible to be mistaken about introspective facts, like whether one is in pain, because there is no difference between appearance and reality. However, this claim has been contested in the contemporary discourse and critics argue that it may be possible, for example, to mistake an unpleasant itch for
12640-472: Is that self-knowledge is more direct than knowledge of the external world, which relies on the interpretation of sense data. Because of this, it is traditionally claimed that self-knowledge is indubitable, like the claim that a person cannot be wrong about whether they are in pain. However, this position is not universally accepted in the contemporary discourse and an alternative view states that self-knowledge also depends on interpretations that could be false. In
12800-414: Is that the human mind is limited and may not be able to possess an infinite number of reasons. This raises the question of whether, according to infinitism, human knowledge is possible at all. Knowledge may be valuable either because it is useful or because it is good in itself. Knowledge can be useful by helping a person achieve their goals. For example, if one knows the answers to questions in an exam one
12960-442: Is the case for the experience needed to learn the words through which the claim is expressed. For example, knowing that "all bachelors are unmarried" is a priori knowledge because no sensory experience is necessary to confirm this fact even though experience was needed to learn the meanings of the words "bachelor" and "unmarried". It is difficult to explain how a priori knowledge is possible and some empiricists deny it exists. It
13120-402: Is usually seen as unproblematic that one can come to know things through experience, but it is not clear how knowledge is possible without experience. One of the earliest solutions to this problem comes from Plato , who argues that the soul already possesses the knowledge and just needs to recollect, or remember, it to access it again. A similar explanation is given by Descartes , who holds that
13280-408: Is wisdom. The Epistle of James is a New Testament analogue of the book of Proverbs, in that it also discusses wisdom. It reiterates the message from Proverbs that wisdom comes from God by stating, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you". James also explains how wisdom helps one acquire other forms of virtue: "But
13440-508: Is written in Classical Chinese , which generally poses a number of challenges for interpreters and translators. As Holmes Welch notes, the written language "has no active or passive, no singular or plural, no case, no person, no tense, no mood." Moreover, the received text lacks many grammatical particles which are preserved in the older Mawangdui and Beida texts, which permit the text to be more precise. Lastly, many passages of
13600-536: The Book of Proverbs , which is filled with wise sayings , is attributed to Solomon. In Proverbs 9:10 , the fear of the Lord is called the beginning of wisdom. Another proverb says that wisdom is gained from God, "For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding". In Proverbs 1:20 , there is also reference to wisdom personified in female form, "Wisdom calls aloud in the streets, she raises her voice in
13760-632: The Mogao Caves near Dunhuang . They included more than 50 partial and complete manuscripts. Another partial manuscript has the Xiang'er commentary, which had previously been lost. In 1973, archaeologists discovered copies of early Chinese books, known as the Mawangdui Silk Texts , in a tomb dated to 168 BC. They included two nearly complete copies of the text, referred to as Text A ( 甲 ) and Text B ( 乙 ), both of which reverse
13920-497: The Tao Te Ching are deliberately ambiguous. Since there is very little punctuation in Classical Chinese, determining the precise boundaries between words and sentences is not always trivial. Deciding where these phrasal boundaries are must be done by the interpreter. Some translators have argued that the received text is so corrupted due to its original medium being bamboo strips linked with silk threads—that it
14080-512: The World Tree that unites all the realms of existence , suffering from hunger and thirst and finally wounding himself with a spear until he gained the knowledge of runes for use in casting powerful magic . He was also able to acquire the mead of poetry from the giants , a drink of which could grant the power of a scholar or poet , for the benefit of gods and mortals alike. Sia was the personification of perception and thoughtfulness in
14240-700: The Zhuangzi . Creel proposed that Shen Buhai preceded it as well. Schwartz's contemporaries discussed Shen Dao as a Daoistic predecessor. A member of the Jixia Academy , Shen Dao is listed in the Outer Zhuangzi before Laozi and Zhuangzi, and shares content the Inner Zhuangzi , which does not appear to be familiar with the Tao Te Ching . Thus, an early stratum of the Zhuangzi may still have preceded them. Chad Hansen does not consider
14400-404: The goddesses Metis and Athena. Metis was the first wife of Zeus , who, according to Hesiod 's Theogony , had devoured her pregnant; Zeus earned the title of Mêtieta ("The Wise Counselor") after that, as Metis was the embodiment of wisdom, and he gave birth to Athena, who is said to have sprung from his head. Athena was portrayed as strong, fair, merciful, and chaste. Apollo was also considered
14560-438: The knowledge of one's own existence and the content of one's ideas. The view that basic reasons exist is not universally accepted. One criticism states that there should be a reason why some reasons are basic while others are not. According to this view, the putative basic reasons are not actually basic since their status would depend on other reasons. Another criticism is based on hermeneutics and argues that all understanding
14720-469: The senses , is identified as the most important source of empirical knowledge. Knowing that a baby is sleeping is observational knowledge if it was caused by a perception of the snoring baby. However, this would not be the case if one learned about this fact through a telephone conversation with one's spouse. Perception comes in different modalities, including vision , sound , touch , smell , and taste , which correspond to different physical stimuli . It
14880-571: The theological concept regarding the wisdom of God . Christian thought opposes secular wisdom and embraces Godly wisdom. Paul the Apostle states that worldly wisdom thinks the claims of Christ to be foolishness. However, to those who are "on the path to salvation" Christ represents the wisdom of God. Wisdom is considered one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit . 1 Corinthians 12:8–10 gives an alternate list of nine virtues, among which
15040-439: The "Wang Bi" version have greater verification than either of the above. Wang Bi (226–249 AD) was a Three Kingdoms -period philosopher and commentator on the Tao Te Ching and I Ching . Tao Te Ching scholarship has advanced from archaeological discoveries of manuscripts, some of which are older than any of the received texts. Beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, Marc Aurel Stein and others found thousands of scrolls in
15200-422: The "attitude of wisdom" as "acting with knowledge while doubting what one knows". In social and psychological sciences, several distinct approaches to wisdom exist, along with techniques of operationalization and measurement of wisdom as a psychological construct. Wisdom is the capacity to have foreknowledge of something, to know the consequences (positive and negative) of the available courses of action, and take
15360-565: The 12th-century Old English word cnawan , which comes from the Old High German word gecnawan . The English word includes various meanings that some other languages distinguish using several words. In ancient Greek, for example, four important terms for knowledge were used: epistēmē (unchanging theoretical knowledge), technē (expert technical knowledge), mētis (strategic knowledge), and gnōsis (personal intellectual knowledge). The main discipline studying knowledge
15520-674: The 20th century due to a series of thought experiments called Gettier cases that provoked alternative definitions. Knowledge can be produced in many ways. The main source of empirical knowledge is perception , which involves the usage of the senses to learn about the external world. Introspection allows people to learn about their internal mental states and processes. Other sources of knowledge include memory , rational intuition , inference , and testimony . According to foundationalism , some of these sources are basic in that they can justify beliefs, without depending on other mental states. Coherentists reject this claim and contend that
15680-463: The 20th century, when epistemologist Edmund Gettier formulated a series of counterexamples. They purport to present concrete cases of justified true beliefs that fail to constitute knowledge. The reason for their failure is usually a form of epistemic luck: the beliefs are justified but their justification is not relevant to the truth. In a well-known example, someone drives along a country road with many barn facades and only one real barn. The person
15840-632: The East . Other notable English translations of the Tao Te Ching are those produced by Chinese scholars and teachers: a 1948 translation by linguist Lin Yutang , a 1961 translation by author John Ching Hsiung Wu , a 1963 translation by sinologist Din Cheuk Lau , another 1963 translation by professor Wing-tsit Chan , and a 1972 translation by Taoist teacher Gia-Fu Feng together with his wife Jane English . Many translations are written by people with
16000-478: The Outer Zhuangzi entirely accurate chronologically, but still discusses Shen Dao as part of the theoretical framework of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Daoism, as "Pre-Laozi Daoist Theory". Discussing concepts of names and realities in its opening, Feng Youlan proposed the school of names as preceding it the Tao Te Ching , but while some may have, it does not demonstrate school of names influence
16160-560: The Way , or A Treatise on the Principle and Its Action . Ancient Chinese books were commonly referenced by the name of their real or supposed author, in this case the "Old Master", Laozi. As such, the Tao Te Ching is also sometimes referred to as the Laozi , especially in Chinese sources. The title Tao Te Ching , designating the work's status as a classic, was only first applied during
16320-614: The West, and is one of the most translated texts in world literature. In English, the title is commonly rendered Tao Te Ching , following the Wade–Giles romanisation, or as Daodejing , following pinyin . It can be translated as The Classic of the Way and its Power , The Book of the Tao and Its Virtue , The Book of the Way and of Virtue , The Tao and its Characteristics , The Canon of Reason and Virtue , The Classic Book of Integrity and
16480-432: The abilities responsible for knowledge-how involve forms of knowledge-that, as in knowing how to prove a mathematical theorem, but this is not generally the case. Some types of knowledge-how do not require a highly developed mind, in contrast to propositional knowledge, and are more common in the animal kingdom. For example, an ant knows how to walk even though it presumably lacks a mind sufficiently developed to represent
16640-425: The atomic mass of gold is 196.97 u , and generalities, like that the color of leaves of some trees changes in autumn. Because of the dependence on mental representations, it is often held that the capacity for propositional knowledge is exclusive to relatively sophisticated creatures, such as humans. This is based on the claim that advanced intellectual capacities are needed to believe a proposition that expresses what
16800-413: The behavior of genes , neutrinos , and black holes . A key aspect of most forms of science is that they seek natural laws that explain empirical observations. Scientific knowledge is discovered and tested using the scientific method . This method aims to arrive at reliable knowledge by formulating the problem in a clear way and by ensuring that the evidence used to support or refute a specific theory
16960-577: The best of the available options. Sapience (" sophia " in Greek) is "transcendent wisdom", "ultimate reality", or the ultimate truth of things. This more cosmic, "big picture" definition is often how wisdom ("true wisdom" or "Wisdom" with a capital W) is considered in a religious context. It transcends mere practical wisdom and may include deep understanding of self , interconnectedness, conditioned origination, and phenomenological insight. A person with this type of wisdom can act with appropriate judgment ,
17120-433: The best-researched scientific theories and the most fundamental common-sense views could still be subject to error. Further research may reduce the possibility of being wrong, but it can never fully exclude it. Some fallibilists reach the skeptical conclusion from this observation that there is no knowledge but the more common view is that knowledge exists but is fallible. Pragmatists argue that one consequence of fallibilism
17280-660: The capacity to realize what is of value in life, for oneself and others. He teaches that new knowledge and technological know-how increase our power to act. Without wisdom though, Maxwell claims this new knowledge may cause human harm as well as human good. He argues that the pursuit of knowledge is indeed valuable and good, but that it should be considered a part of the broader task of improving wisdom. The three major psychological categories for wisdom are personality , development , and expertise . Psychologists have begun to gather data on commonly held beliefs or folk theories about wisdom. Initial analyses indicate that although "there
17440-549: The classical tradition—the Hippocratic writings used the term sóphronistér (in Greek , related to the meaning of moderation or teaching a lesson), and in Latin dens sapientiae (wisdom tooth). Athena (as Mentor) supported him by recognizing and fostering courage , hope , sense, bravery, and adeptness (Homer, trans. 1996, p. 102). The ancient Greeks considered wisdom to be an important virtue , personified as
17600-492: The colonial appropriation of Chinese culture. Other Taoism scholars, such as Michael LaFargue and Jonathan Herman, argue that while they do not pretend to scholarship, they meet a real spiritual need in the West. These Westernized versions aim to make the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching more accessible to modern English-speaking readers by, typically, employing more familiar cultural and temporal references. The Tao Te Ching
17760-525: The corresponding proposition. Knowledge by acquaintance is familiarity with something that results from direct experiential contact. The object of knowledge can be a person, a thing, or a place. For example, by eating chocolate, one becomes acquainted with the taste of chocolate, and visiting Lake Taupō leads to the formation of knowledge by acquaintance of Lake Taupō. In these cases, the person forms non-inferential knowledge based on first-hand experience without necessarily acquiring factual information about
17920-421: The course of history. Knowledge is a form of familiarity, awareness , understanding , or acquaintance. It often involves the possession of information learned through experience and can be understood as a cognitive success or an epistemic contact with reality, like making a discovery. Many academic definitions focus on propositional knowledge in the form of believing certain facts, as in "I know that Dave
18080-406: The existence of an infinite regress, in contrast to infinitists. According to foundationalists, some basic reasons have their epistemic status independent of other reasons and thereby constitute the endpoint of the regress. Some foundationalists hold that certain sources of knowledge, like perception, provide basic reasons. Another view is that this role is played by certain self-evident truths, like
18240-454: The face of ill-defined life situations: Grossmann found that habitually speaking and thinking of oneself in the third person increases these characteristics, which means that such a habit makes a person wiser. Grossmann says contextual factors—such as culture, experiences, and social situations—influence the understanding, development, and propensity of wisdom, with implications for training and educational practice. These contextual factors are
18400-412: The films; one of his inspirations was Joseph Campbell 's The Hero of a Thousand Faces . The character Master Yoda from the films evokes the trope of the wise sage or "Oriental Monk", and he is frequently quoted, analogously to Chinese thinkers or Eastern sages in general. Psychologist D. W. Kreger's book The Tao of Yoda adapts the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching in relation to Yoda's thinking. Knowledge
18560-541: The focus of continuing research. For instance, Grossmann and Kross identified a phenomenon they called "the Solomon's paradox": that people reflect more wisely on other people's problems than on their own. (It is named after King Solomon , who had legendary sagacity when making judgments about other people's dilemmas but lacked insight when it came to important decisions in his own life.) A researcher will measure wisdom differently depending on their theoretical position about
18720-508: The human species, Homo sapiens . Perennial wisdom seeks unity through nondualism . The wisdom of the crowd is a common strategy (i.e., heuristic). The Socratic method is a heuristic of epistemology . Buddhist traditions provide comprehensive guidance on how to develop wisdom. In the Star Wars universe, wisdom is valued. George Lucas incorporated spirituality and morals, recurrent in mythological and philosophical themes, into
18880-441: The intellect. It encompasses both mundane or conventional truths as well as discoveries of the empirical sciences. Higher knowledge is understood as knowledge of God, the absolute , the true self , or the ultimate reality . It belongs neither to the external world of physical objects nor to the internal world of the experience of emotions and concepts. Many spiritual teachings stress the importance of higher knowledge to progress on
19040-470: The knowledge is acquired and on the content of the known information. Propositional knowledge, also referred to as declarative and descriptive knowledge, is a form of theoretical knowledge about facts, like knowing that "2 + 2 = 4". It is the paradigmatic type of knowledge in analytic philosophy . Propositional knowledge is propositional in the sense that it involves a relation to a proposition. Since propositions are often expressed through that-clauses, it
19200-697: The latter approach measure wisdom-related features of cognition, motivation, and emotion in the context of a specific situation. Such state-level measures provide less-biased responses as well as greater power in explaining meaningful psychological processes. Also, a focus on the situation allows wisdom researchers to develop a fuller understanding of the role of context in producing wisdom. For example, studies have shown evidence of cross-cultural and within-cultural variability, and systematic variability in reasoning wisely across contexts and in daily life. Many, but not all, studies find that adults' self-ratings of perspective and wisdom do not depend on age. This conflicts with
19360-412: The limits of knowledge is radical or global skepticism , which holds that humans lack any form of knowledge or that knowledge is impossible. For example, the dream argument states that perceptual experience is not a source of knowledge since dreaming provides unreliable information and a person could be dreaming without knowing it. Because of this inability to discriminate between dream and perception, it
19520-403: The marketplaces." In Proverbs 8:22–31 , this personified wisdom is described as being present with God before creation began and even as taking part in creation itself. King Solomon continues his teachings of wisdom in the book of Ecclesiastes . Solomon discusses his exploration of the meaning of life and fulfillment, as he speaks of life's pleasures, work, and materialism, yet concludes that it
19680-408: The mathematical belief that 2 + 2 = 4, are justified through pure reason alone. Testimony is often included as an additional source of knowledge that, unlike the other sources, is not tied to one specific cognitive faculty. Instead, it is based on the idea that one person can come to know a fact because another person talks about this fact. Testimony can happen in numerous ways, like regular speech,
19840-564: The military, which relies on intelligence to identify and prevent threats. In the field of education, the value of knowledge can be used to choose which knowledge should be passed on to the students. The scientific approach is usually regarded as an exemplary process of how to gain knowledge about empirical facts. Scientific knowledge includes mundane knowledge about easily observable facts, for example, chemical knowledge that certain reactants become hot when mixed together. It also encompasses knowledge of less tangible issues, like claims about
20000-539: The mythology of Ancient Egypt . Thoth, married to Maat (in ancient Egyptian : order, righteousness, truth), was regarded as the being who introduced wisdom to the nation. Public schools in the U.S. sometimes nod at " character education " which would include training in wisdom. Nicholas Maxwell, a philosopher in the United Kingdom, believes academia ought to alter its focus from the acquisition of knowledge to seeking and promoting wisdom. This he defines as
20160-778: The name Hermes Trimegistus . Greek tradition recorded the earliest introducers of wisdom in the Seven Sages of Greece . To Socrates and Plato , philosophy was literally the love of wisdom ( philo - sophia ). This permeates Plato's dialogues ; in The Republic the leaders of his proposed utopia are philosopher kings who understand the Form of the Good and possess the courage to act accordingly. Aristotle , in Metaphysics , defined wisdom as understanding why things are
20320-429: The natural sciences often rely on advanced technological instruments to perform these measurements and to setup experiments. Another common feature of their approach is to use mathematical tools to analyze the measured data and formulate exact and general laws to describe the observed phenomena. Tao Te Ching The Tao Te Ching ( traditional Chinese : 道德經 ; simplified Chinese : 道德经 ) or Laozi
20480-415: The nature of wisdom. For example, some view wisdom as a stable personality trait, others as a context-bound process. Those wedded to the former approach often use single-shot questionnaires, which are prone to biased responses, something that is antithetical to the wisdom construct and fails to study wisdom in the contexts where it is most relevant: complex life challenges. In contrast, researchers who prefer
20640-420: The object. By contrast, it is also possible to indirectly learn a lot of propositional knowledge about chocolate or Lake Taupō by reading books without having the direct experiential contact required for knowledge by acquaintance. The concept of knowledge by acquaintance was first introduced by Bertrand Russell . He holds that knowledge by acquaintance is more basic than propositional knowledge since to understand
20800-421: The observation that metaphysics aims to characterize the things in themselves, he concludes that no metaphysical knowledge is possible, like knowing whether the world has a beginning or is infinite . There are also limits to knowledge in the empirical sciences, such as the uncertainty principle , which states that it is impossible to know the exact magnitudes of certain certain pairs of physical properties, like
20960-503: The past and makes it accessible in the present, as when remembering a past event or a friend's phone number. It is generally seen as a reliable source of knowledge. However, it can be deceptive at times nonetheless, either because the original experience was unreliable or because the memory degraded and does not accurately represent the original experience anymore. Knowledge based on perception, introspection, and memory may give rise to inferential knowledge, which comes about when reasoning
21120-613: The people who might be considered wiser than him, concluding they lacked true knowledge: τούτου μὲν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐγὼ σοφώτερός εἰμι: κινδυνεύει μὲν γὰρ ἡμῶν οὐδέτερος οὐδὲν καλὸν κἀγαθὸν εἰδέναι, ἀλλ᾽ οὗτος μὲν οἴεταί τι εἰδέναι οὐκ εἰδώς, ἐγὼ δέ, ὥσπερ οὖν οὐκ οἶδα, οὐδὲ οἴομαι: ἔοικα γοῦν τούτου γε σμικρῷ τινι αὐτῷ τούτῳ σοφώτερος εἶναι, ὅτι ἃ μὴ οἶδα οὐδὲ οἴομαι εἰδέναι. I am wiser than this man; for neither of us really knows anything fine and good, but this man thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas I, as I do not know anything, do not think I do either. This became immortalized in
21280-427: The phrase " I know that I know nothing " an aphorism suggesting that it is wise to recognize one's own ignorance and to value epistemic humility . The ancient Romans also valued wisdom, which was personified as Minerva or Pallas. She also represents skillful knowledge and the virtues, especially chastity. Her symbol was the owl , which is still a popular representation of wisdom, because it can see in darkness. She
21440-414: The popular notion that wisdom increases with age. The answer to whether age and wisdom correlate depends on how one defines wisdom and one's experimental technique. The answer to this question also depends on the domain studied, and the role of experience in that domain, with some contexts favoring older adults, others favoring younger adults, and some not differentiating age groups. Rigorous longitudinal work
21600-416: The position and momentum of a particle, at the same time. Other examples are physical systems studied by chaos theory , for which it is not practically possible to predict how they will behave since they are so sensitive to initial conditions that even the slightest of variations may produce a completely different behavior. This phenomenon is known as the butterfly effect . The strongest position about
21760-702: The possibility of knowledge. Knowledge is relevant to many fields like the sciences , which aim to acquire knowledge using the scientific method based on repeatable experimentation , observation , and measurement . Various religions hold that humans should seek knowledge and that God or the divine is the source of knowledge. The anthropology of knowledge studies how knowledge is acquired, stored, retrieved, and communicated in different cultures. The sociology of knowledge examines under what sociohistorical circumstances knowledge arises, and what sociological consequences it has. The history of knowledge investigates how knowledge in different fields has developed, and evolved, in
21920-468: The pronunciation of Old Chinese spoken during the Tao Te Ching ' s composition, approximately three-quarters rhymed in the original language. The Chinese characters in the earliest versions were written in seal script , while later versions were written in clerical script and regular script styles. The Tao Te Ching has been translated into Western languages over 250 times, mostly to English, German, and French. According to Holmes Welch, "It
22080-467: The question of whether or why knowledge is more valuable than mere true belief. There is wide agreement that knowledge is usually good in some sense but the thesis that knowledge is better than true belief is controversial. An early discussion of this problem is found in Plato's Meno in relation to the claim that both knowledge and true belief can successfully guide action and, therefore, have apparently
22240-496: The reign of Duke Xian of Qin ( r. 384–362 BC ). The Tao Te Ching describes the Tao as the source and ideal of all existence: it is unseen, but not transcendent, immensely powerful yet supremely humble, being the root of all things. People have desires and free will (and thus are able to alter their own nature). Many act "unnaturally", upsetting the natural balance of the Tao. The Tao Te Ching intends to lead students to
22400-399: The reign of Emperor Jing of Han (157–141 BC). Other titles for the work include the honorific Sutra of the Way and Its Power ( 道德真經 ; Dàodé zhēnjing ) and the descriptive Five Thousand Character Classic ( 五千文 ; Wǔqiān wén ). Among the many transmitted editions of the Tao Te Ching text, the three primary ones are named after early commentaries. The "Yan Zun Version", which
22560-399: The requirements that the justified true belief does not depend on any false beliefs, that no defeaters are present, or that the person would not have the belief if it was false. Another view states that beliefs have to be infallible to amount to knowledge. A further approach, associated with pragmatism , focuses on the aspect of inquiry and characterizes knowledge in terms of what works as
22720-528: The role of emotions in wisdom. Most agree that emotions and emotion regulation are key to effectively managing the kinds of complex and arousing situations that most call for wisdom. Much empirical research has focused on the cognitive or meta-cognitive aspects of wisdom, assuming that an ability to reason through difficult situations is paramount. So although emotions likely play a role in how wisdom plays out in real events (and in reflecting on past events), empirical studies were late to develop on how emotions affect
22880-479: The same value. For example, it seems that mere true belief is as effective as knowledge when trying to find the way to Larissa . According to Plato, knowledge is better because it is more stable. Another suggestion is that knowledge gets its additional value from justification. One difficulty for this view is that while justification makes it more probable that a belief is true, it is not clear what additional value it provides in comparison to an unjustified belief that
23040-631: The source of all learning is the knowledge of God. The word "wisdom" ( חכם ) is mentioned 222 times in the Hebrew Bible . It was regarded as one of the highest virtues among the Israelites along with kindness ( חסד ) and justice ( צדק ). The books of Proverbs and Psalms each urge readers to obtain and to increase in wisdom. In the Hebrew Bible, wisdom is exemplified by Solomon , who asks God for wisdom in 2 Chronicles 1:10 . Much of
23200-588: The spiritual path and to see reality as it truly is beyond the veil of appearances . Sources of knowledge are ways in which people come to know things. They can be understood as cognitive capacities that are exercised when a person acquires new knowledge. Various sources of knowledge are discussed in the academic literature, often in terms of the mental faculties responsible. They include perception, introspection, memory, inference, and testimony. However, not everyone agrees that all of them actually lead to knowledge. Usually, perception or observation, i.e. using one of
23360-405: The term is used in ordinary language . There is also disagreement about whether knowledge is a rare phenomenon that requires high standards or a common phenomenon found in many everyday situations. An often-discussed definition characterizes knowledge as justified true belief. This definition identifies three essential features: it is (1) a belief that is (2) true and (3) justified . Truth
23520-428: The theatrical sense, "creating nothingness", "acting spontaneously", and "flowing with the moment". This concept is used to explain ziran , or harmony with the Tao. It includes the concepts that value distinctions are ideological and seeing ambition of all sorts as originating from the same source. Tao Te Ching used the term broadly with simplicity and humility as key virtues, often in contrast to selfish action. On
23680-616: The time of the Three Sovereigns before the thirteenth as Laozi. Some scholars have expressed doubts over Laozi's historicity. The first biographical reference to Laozi is in the Records of the Grand Historian , by Chinese historian Sima Qian ( c. 145–86 BC ), which combines three stories. In the first, Laozi was a contemporary of Confucius (551–479 BC). His surname was Li ( 李 ), and his personal name
23840-485: The traditional ordering and put the Te Ching section before the Tao Ching , which is why the Henricks translation of them is named "Te-Tao Ching". Based on calligraphic styles and imperial naming taboo avoidances, scholars believe that Text A can be dated to about the first decade and Text B to about the third decade of the 2nd century BC. In 1993, the oldest known version of the text, written on bamboo slips ,
24000-438: The value of knowledge is crucial to many fields that have to make decisions about whether to seek knowledge about a specific matter. On a political level, this concerns the problem of identifying the most promising research programs to allocate funds. Similar concerns affect businesses, where stakeholders have to decide whether the cost of acquiring knowledge is justified by the economic benefits that this knowledge may provide, and
24160-431: The verses reordered to synthesize the new finds. Although debated more in early scholarship, early modern scholars like Feng Youlan and Herrlee G. Creel still considered the work a compilation, and most modern scholarship holds the text to be a compilation, as typical for long-form early Chinese texts. Essentially the dating of A.C. Graham , the current text might have been compiled c. 250 BCE , drawing on
24320-461: The way the Zhuangzi does. Although differing, Mohism and Confucianism also discuss concepts of names and realities. The Tao Te Ching was traditionally ascribed to Laozi , whose historical existence has been a matter of scholarly debate. His name, which means "Old Master", has only fuelled controversy on this issue. Legends claim variously that Laozi was "born old" and that he lived for 996 years, with twelve previous incarnations starting around
24480-537: The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." James focuses on using this God-given wisdom to perform acts of service to the less fortunate. Apart from Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and James, other main books of wisdom in the Bible are Job, Psalms, and 1 and 2 Corinthians, which give lessons on gaining and using wisdom through difficult situations. The Islamic term for wisdom
24640-405: The world is like. Non-propositional knowledge is knowledge in which no essential relation to a proposition is involved. The two most well-known forms are knowledge-how (know-how or procedural knowledge ) and knowledge by acquaintance. To possess knowledge-how means to have some form of practical ability , skill, or competence , like knowing how to ride a bicycle or knowing how to swim. Some of
24800-488: Was Er ( 耳 ) or Dan ( 聃 ). He was an official in the imperial archives, and wrote a book in two parts before departing to the West; at the request of the keeper of the Han-ku Pass, Yinxi , Laozi composed the Tao Te Ching . In the second story, Laozi, also a contemporary of Confucius, was Lao Laizi ( 老萊子 ), who wrote a book in 15 parts. Third, Laozi was the grand historian and astrologer Lao Dan ( 老聃 ), who lived during
24960-562: Was always right in healing and oracles: "he is an ever-darting archer". Apollo prophesied through the priestesses ( Pythia ) in the Temple of Apollo (Delphi) , where the aphorism " know thyself " ( gnōthi seauton ) was inscribed (one of the Delphic maxims ). He was contrasted with Hermes , who was related to the sciences and technical wisdom, and, in the first centuries after Christ, was associated with Thoth in an Egyptian syncretism , under
25120-616: Was found in a tomb near the town of Guodian ( 郭店 ) in Jingmen , Hubei, and dated prior to 300 BC. The Guodian Chu Slips comprise around 800 slips of bamboo with a total of over 13,000 characters, about 2,000 of which correspond with the Tao Te Ching. Both the Mawangdui and Guodian versions are generally consistent with the received texts, excepting differences in chapter sequence and graphic variants. Several recent Tao Te Ching translations utilise these two versions, sometimes with
25280-444: Was positively associated with wise reasoning in people: "Yoda embraces his emotions and aims to achieve a balance between them. Yoda is known to be emotionally expressive, to share a good joke with others, but also to recognize sorrow and his past mistakes". In many cultures, the name for third molars, which are the last teeth to grow, is etymologically linked with wisdom, as in the English wisdom tooth . This nickname originated from
25440-401: Was said to have been born from Jupiter's forehead. Odin is known for his wisdom, often as acquired through various hardships and ordeals involving pain and self-sacrifice. In one instance he plucked out an eye and offered it to Mímir, guardian of the well of knowledge and wisdom, in return for a drink from the well. In another famous account, Odin hanged himself for nine nights from Yggdrasil ,
25600-529: Was the day he was assassinated but it was knowable to him and some contemporaries. Another factor restricting knowledge is given by the limitations of the human cognitive faculties. Some people may lack the cognitive ability to understand highly abstract mathematical truths and some facts cannot be known by any human because they are too complex for the human mind to conceive. A further limit of knowledge arises due to certain logical paradoxes . For instance, there are some ideas that will never occur to anyone. It
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