- NEW!
by Anonymous on March 28th, 2007
Perhaps because true wisdom acknowledges that there is always something to learn?
by Stableboy on April 5th, 2007
I was going to leave this alone, but it's too juicy a morsel! :-)
Doubt always accompanies any kind of conceptual knowledge, because in order to have a concept, one must separate something from the whole (i.e. take it out of it's original context) and encapsulate it as an abstraction (remove the messy details, sharpen up the boundaries, simplify, generalize, etc.) By the time the surgery is complete, and the "unit of knowledge" is in a neat little manageable form we call an IDEA, it's lost some of it's "trueness" -- it's been distorted by the surgery.
So the process of creating concepts always introduces uncertainty and doubt. If you take the bear out of the forest and give it an apartment in the city, it no longer behaves quite like a bear should.
Now if you take a LOT of concepts, and hook them up like little disconnected building blocks, and start performing various logical operations on them (like analyzing them, telling stories about them, trying to decide what they mean in relationship to each other, etc.), that initial distortion gets amplified, and also the odds are very good that some logical fallacies or further distortions will be introduced.
By the time you've done a lot of this, your model has a lot of distortion and doubt built-in. Wise people do as much as they can to minimize this distortion, but it's inherent in the process and cannot be eliminated. Thus they (honestly) admit where there doubts lie, and do this kind of work with caution.
A fool fails to notice any of the distortion, and then compounds the problem by hooking his ego up to the model and saying "look Ma! I figured it all out!". This makes him intensely resistant to seeing what others can see quite readily: the gaps, loopholes, leaps of logic, artificially rigid boundaries, and other bits of non-truth which have slipped in during construction.
One might conclude from all this that it's impossible to really know the truth... but strangely enough, it isn't! The truth can be known quite easily -- it's right in front of our noses at every moment... it's just "THIS"... our direct and immediate experience right now. The only problem is, when we try to capture that truth into concepts, we start the whole model-building process again, introduce distortions, and so forth.
That's why it's said that "those who know don't tell, and those who tell don't know". Truly knowing precludes being able to talk about it "truthfully". Talking about it can only be done if you admit to the distortions introduced by trying to talk about that which will not be packaged up into language.
by ptrask on April 5th, 2007
I remember a wise man saying once that people only make assertions about things they are unsure of. He said "You never hear of someone standing up in front of a crowd and asserting that the sun will rise in the east today rather than the west." Maybe they are trying to reassure themselves when they speak with such certainty.
by Gideon on March 28th, 2007
I think wise people can have a solid foundation of personal conviction, but they understand the universe is filled with a myriad of possibilities, variables and factors we can't control. The absolutely convinced personality sees only one path or answer -- his.
by Auntie Em on December 13th, 2007
Because fools and fanatics know not that they know not and so look no further.
Wiser people know they don't have all the answers so they are continually searching.
by Barcaluv on March 28th, 2007
I think it's all a matter of having a closed mind. Keeping an open mind to the world makes you more curious, more willing to learn and know new things (but not necessarily accept them). Your life is richer, more fullfilling in my opinion.
by CelticNomad on March 28th, 2007
Because the more you learn, the less you realise you know. Er, hang on .....
by Brahmanyan on November 6th, 2007
Because they follow the dictum "ignorance is bliss".Fools and fanatics use their brawn instead of brains. Wisemen believe in their wisdom.
by Anonymous on April 5th, 2007
I believe the statement that "the more you learn the more you realise you do not know" is a very apt statement. Wiser people are aware of that, whereas others may not be as aware.
People may also just be very stubborn (even if they are educated) and closed minded.
by gtravels loves her life penguin on April 5th, 2007
Wise people know the only thing that is certain is uncertainty. Fools don't know enough to doubt....Great question Retro!:)
by Arisztid on May 24th, 2007
You answered yourself in your question. :)
WISE people know better than to think they know all. That is the providence of wisdom. Wise people also seek to know more because they know that their opinions and beliefs just might not be the Truth. Then they evaluate their personal stances and beliefs based upon further input.
Fanatics are sheep and parrots. They follow blindly whatever dogma they believe, with no examination of said dogma. They parrot whatever they have been taught, again, with no examination of the teachings.
by Greg Griffin on September 30th, 2007
Because "the more you learn the less you realise you know" - Socrates
by Meow Meow 1BadMutha TBMF on August 26th, 2007
Shakespeare said it best: "The emptiest vessel sounds loudest".
by kidalbino on July 31st, 2007
ignorance is bliss.
by Donna Kardash on July 31st, 2007
Fools haven't the time to evaluate things from all sides. Fanatics only see one side. Wise people question and evaluate ,which sometimes may lead to doubt in the process.
by WussiePussieHasLetHimselfOutOfTheBag on May 3rd, 2007
Wisdom generally comes through doubting the status quo. I would, however, not be perturbed at being considered a fool (particularly the shakespearian variety :-))
by Nick on March 23rd, 2008
To put it simply: Fanatics and fools think one-dimensionally, they are not able to put anything in perspective and thus question anything. That makes them in a technical sense more efficient in their actions, but it also makes it easy to manipulate them into wrong directions. Wise people, on the contrary, know about perspective and questioning. I think a good instrument against fundamentalism is the learning of a foreign language. If you speak (at least)two languages, you are naturally putting things into perspective, and so you will be not as easily becoming a fanatic.
by haggis on March 13th, 2008
the more i know the less i'm sure
by Penal Colony is wicked marrying Andy on March 13th, 2008
Because as Socrates said, "True knowledge is knowing that you know NOTHING."
Questioning things, exploring possibilities, and searching for truth is part of what makes us human. Anyone who just believes what they're told and then stops searching is a fool.
by Quackers on March 13th, 2008
Because wise people are critical thinkers and are more concerned with the pursuit of real knowledge than the display of false knowledge.
by frame on February 27th, 2008
a wise man knows that there may be an angle to it that he may not have thought of and that angle an added to all else that is known to him could change his perception of the reality of the situation. the world is so vast that one man can not possibly know all things. also a wise man has nothing to prove of himself, he is that that that he is. the fool wants to be seen as great, and so stays shallow, afraid to stick his neck out too far and end up becoming smaller than he is. the wise man knows that he is small.
by G8wayz on February 11th, 2008
Doubt is a result of a question. Most fanatics don't question themselves, or like to be questioned.
by Anonymous on January 16th, 2008
fools and fanatics may not be aware or do not wish to acknowleage the implications of the choices and the effects of a choice on theres, the wiser individual may be more aware of the conciquences of any choice. Time and again it has been said that you cannot see past a choice you do not understand, maybe it is that only the wise individual is able to see past there chice.
by pr0meth3u5 on December 10th, 2007
The Socratic definition of wisdom is "I know only that I don't know."
by JKT on November 24th, 2007
The question is: Who is wiser the one who listens to himself or the one who questions himself?
by VSPrasad on November 8th, 2007
If you sit on ground, you will see only a small part of
the world. If you stand on the top of a mountain,
you will see the majestic vastness of the world.
by macdjug-Paxvobiscum on October 31st, 2007
Fools know everything. It is the wise that relize and can admit to themselves that they don't.
by Magenta on September 30th, 2007
Have you ever watched TV in the very early hours of the morning? It's filled with infomercials about "loose all the weight you want in 6 days without dieting and exercise!" and "Get rich fast with no-money down real estate!"
Fools want fast, easy answers to complex questions. They feel so certain those answers are correct because they WANT those answers to be correct. They don't want the uncertainty and ambiguity that exists in the real world because that frightens them.
Religion is the same- it's nice to believe there is a loving father out there looking after you, and if you just believe in him he will give you eternal life. It makes people feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
It's a pleasant, easy answer to the complex and uncertain reality of existance, and as others have said, ignorance is bliss.
by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on August 26th, 2007
Good comments. But a lot of "political correctness" was there in most. I am not politically correct.
Fools and fanatics,... political, religious, or pseudo-scientific are usually very ignorant and stupid people. There. It is that simple. Wisdom requires a degree of both intelligence, knowlege, and experience. I would not say that "wiser people are full of doubts". I would say that they are more full of reasons to doubt fools and fanatics.
by wildkat on August 6th, 2007
The more you know, the more you realise how much more there is to know.
Intelligence destroys ignorance.
by none on August 6th, 2007
Perhaps it's because "fools" are ignorant and therefore don't have any other knowledge than the basic one that they keep defending. And wiser people are full of knowledge/life experience and therefore can come up with different conclusions to answers. I don't think its doubt though, I think it's more that they have learned to accept that there is never one answer, so you have to keep your mind open to other possibilies.
by killdrphil - reasonable for a madman on July 31st, 2007
They would never get wise unless they were full of doubts and constantly examining and re-examining. That's why fools and fanatics aren't wise. They are always certain and have no time or inclination for examination.
by squishykiwifruit on July 31st, 2007
I agree completely with Donna. I have been around enough fools and fanatics for a lifetime, and I agree completely. Fanatics will argue with anyone about their chosen subject, and I've known them to lie when the cards are stacked against them, or to twist words to suit themselves.
by Littlemisswallflower on June 10th, 2007
Because they are just that; wiser. They are aware that they may be wrong. They can think situations through better, assess them, and see a bad outcome better, whereas fools and fanatics are fools BECAUSE of their lack of ability to ascertain what could possibly go wrong.
by david1 on April 26th, 2007
1. Wiser people are not necessarily full of doubts.
2. Wiser people are not interested in claiming authority and recognition.
by Owner of the GD Universe on April 5th, 2007
It's like the difference between a Mac user and a PC user...
by CSWarn on April 5th, 2007
I think fools and fanatics are too foolish to realize there is much to learn in the world. Either that, or they realize their shortcomings and are foolish enough to think acting silly and talking loudly will hide their flaws.
by MAC N CHEESE on March 28th, 2007
because they are full of wisdom and they know everything and they are neva wrong
by American idle on March 28th, 2007
That's so not true.
by pokeyokey1 on November 29th, 2008
If ignorance is bliss, then intelligence is a burden.
A fool has never really looked in the mirror. A fool has never seen the damage of his words. A fool has no need to doubt themselves, because he is already doubted. A wise man knows his faults. A wise man knows through wisedom that he is subject to failure, and in the struggle toward perfection, cautiously walks around the barriers.
by Don Gorgeous George on October 19th, 2008
It's because no body has it all figured out. The wise are aware of this and are open minded, always thinking about what might be
by Nightwatchdog on September 6th, 2008
I woun't always call "indesision" a constructive charater trait, and occasionally there is only one answer for a given problem and that choice may be a clear one.
People who "think" ofter ponder their desisions - some times for good - and sometime for ill, most of it is useless second guessing at best.
It's too easy to say that their is an infinate possibility of answers to all questions - some questions only have one correct answer and their is nothing foolish about giving the correct answer at those times with certainty and confidence.
Old sayings - like your question are great conversation starters - but their "wisdom" is seldom absoloute.
by Go know thyself is THE RED QUEEN on August 9th, 2008
Because to some people, being conceited, is better than being convinced.
Less work I suppose?
by cdfaulk4 on July 5th, 2008
I would answer that with two quotes,
“To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.” Henry David Thoreau
Which means that knowledge is understanding the limits of what you know.
I don't remember the other quote word for word, but it was something like "the more I know, the more I realize how much I don't know."
Which again means that knowing more things enlightens one about how much more knowledge there is to gain.
by creaturex on April 24th, 2008
It's easy to have blind faith. Questioning your beliefs constantly, and proving them to yourself, takes wisdom.
by Tallyman on April 20th, 2008
The Bible says, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools."
by MvL on April 20th, 2008
Socrates said that his wisdom came from his acknowledging his complete ignorance.
Wisdom is the gift of being able to remain unpersuaded, no matter how "sure" you feel, in the face of anything less than metaphysically / epistemologically certain knowledge. To do anything else is to risk intellectual dishonesty, and to claim and believe knowledge that you do not actually have. I would argue that this "sin" is the root of all other human evils.
by macdjug-Paxvobiscum on April 12th, 2008
There is a Buddhist saying that says it all. 'Those that know, know not. Those that know not, know.'
by AnonymousGirl on April 12th, 2008
Wise people realize that they might be wrong. Fools on the other hand, .. they're a different story.
by SYDRO on April 12th, 2008
Ignorance is bliss.
The less you know, the more you can concentrate upon and become more infatuated with, giving yourself more confidence is that facet.
Contrary, the more you know, the more you realize how great things can be and how horrible things can be, thus causing an unfortunate lack of respect to that which is evil and more uncertainty of what to depend upon.
Does anyone appreciate the sound reasons for egoism that Max Stirner provides in his Ego and It's own?
by nest on November 25th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
If we were all created equally does that mean we all have an equal purpose?
by pearloaf is not yelling and dreams of bal on February 22nd, 2011
| 1 person likes this
What philosophy do you try to apply to your day to day life?
by Desiderata on November 16th, 2010
| 7 people like this
Is there really a thing called freedom or all we all trapped towards death?
by Kimi_T on February 4th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
Lets hear opinions on why death exists at all.
by C_Anglin on January 12th, 2011
| 7 people like this
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Comments
Good point.
by Stableboy on March 28th, 2007
Brilliant
by Tom on March 28th, 2007
Perfect answer.
by unknown on April 5th, 2007
Exactly! +
by Mrs.Dufresne on April 5th, 2007
very well said BourbonAllMighty +
by Owner of the GD Universe on April 5th, 2007
witty and sage....
by ABnormally HappyVTguy moves to NH on April 5th, 2007
Why thank you guys!
by Anonymous on April 6th, 2007
No, thank YOU!
by Owner of the GD Universe on April 6th, 2007
Neatly summed up. Nice answer!
by Arisztid on May 24th, 2007