Knowledge and Wisdom - By Bertrand Russell , Summary and Exercises
Knowledge and Wisdom
By : Bertrand Russell
[Bertrand Russell ]
1. Introduction :
This essay has been written by Bertrand Russell, (1872-1970). He was a famous British philosopher, mathematician, logician and a social reformer. He has written on a variety of topics like philosophy, morality, economy and political issues. He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1950.
The present essay 'Knowledge and Wisdom' is one of his most read essays. The title of the essay gives a clear hint about the type of content the essay includes. The two key words in the title are 'Knowledge' and 'Wisdom', so this essay is all about what is 'Knowledge' and what is 'Wisdom'.
Some people might consider Knowledge and Wisdom to be the same thing. But that's wrong. Knowledge and wisdom are not synonymous to each other.
Knowledge is all facts, information, and skills acquired through experience, learning and education. Wisdom is to make us wise. Wisdom is the practical application and use of the knowledge to create value.
It tells us in which situation what to say and how to act. It helps to take right decisions and lead a meaningful life. Wisdom is gained through learning and practical experience. Wisdom can never a matter of memorization.
Wisdom doesn't automatically come along with knowledge. One has to pay attention to certain aspects to gain wisdom.
In this essay Russell has tried to differentiate between knowledge and wisdom. He has tried to make clear what wisdom is and why it is so important in our lives. He also enumerates (mention one by one) the various ways of achieving it.
2. Short Summary:
This essay is concerned with knowledge and wisdom. Here the writer has tried to differentiate between knowledge and wisdom. He has also presented the different factors by which we can gain wisdom.
Finally he has stressed the point that wisdom should be taught along with providing knowledge. In other words wisdom should be integrated while imparting knowledge.
Knowledge is all facts, information and skills acquired through experience or education, whereas wisdom is with a good judgement, being sensible. It tells us what to say, what to do, how to think and behave in a given situation. It helps to leads us to lead a meaningful life and helps us in being wise.
It is not easy to define wisdom in one or two sentences. Russsell has presented the following factors which constitute (make up/ form) wisdom.
- A sense of proportion with a sense of comprehensiveness
- Full awareness of the goals of human life
- Choice of ends to be persuaded
- Emancipation from personal prejudices
- Growing impartial
If we run after some unattainable (which can't be achieved) goals, aims, or future dreams, we will only lose our time and energy. We need wisdom to decide goals of life.
Many people wasted their lives in finding out elixir of life (a hypothetical substance which is supposed to cure diseases and helps to live for ever) or a philosopher's stone. But they could not find them because such goals were unrealistic and unattainable.
4. Emancipation from personal prejudices : Naturally we all have prejudices against persons, places, things etc. Such prejudices are baseless and unreasonable, and they lead us to favoritism. It is wise to get rid of such prejudices.
5. Growing impartial : A sense of impartiality is another factor of wisdom. It is learning to control our instincts and selfishness.
Our senses (like touch, sight, smell etc.) feelings (like sadness, anger, disgust, joy etc.) are bound up with our bodies, thoughts and feelings. They are so subjective (based on personal feelings and opinions etc.) that it is very difficult to turn completely impersonal to them.
This is tyranny of senses.
Although our instincts or feelings are very subjective, we can and we should make an continual effort towards impartiality. Being impartial is being wise.
Can wisdom be taught ?
Russell thinks that wisdom can be and should be taught. Teaching wisdom should be one of the goals of education. This can be done by point out dangerous and hatred and narrow mindedness while imparting(giving) knowledge to our people.
Even the best specialists in any field need wisdom. They should be good citizen of the world.
3. Detailed Summary :
In this essay Bertrand Russell tells that knowledge and wisdom are not the same things, and every increased knowledge should be balanced with wisdom, otherwise it may bring disastrous results.
In the opening paragraph the writer says that in the present time we have surpassed (exceeded/ being greater than) in the matters of gaining knowledge. But the sad thing is that there has been no corresponding increase in wisdom. There should always be a balance between knowledge and wisdom.
If knowledge exceeds (becomes more than) wisdom, it brings more harm than benefit, and in some cases it might bring a threat to the world. That is the problem of the modern times.
4. But what is wisdom ?
It is not easy to define wisdom. It is a broad area. There is not a single factor or thing that makes a man wise. One has to take into consideration to understand what wisdom is. Here the writer has presented the following factors which constitute (make) wisdom :
- A sense of proportion with a comprehensiveness
- Certain awareness of the ends of human life
- Choice of ends to be persuaded (choosing one goals and targets carefully)
- Emancipation from personal prejudices
- Emancipation from the tyranny of here and now (Emancipation from our senses and a growing impartiality)
A sense of proportion is taking into consideration all the possible sides and aspects related to a matter or a field -- may it be studies or researches, a particular problem, or some other aspect of life, and paying a due importance and weightage and care to every side.
Related closely to it is a sense of comprehensiveness. It is the capacity to understand something in a broad complete way. So comprehensive vision is taking a broader view of an aspect of life in which one is working.
Our actions (including studies, researches and things or some other things) have their effects on several sides. If they have some positive effects, they might have some negative effects also.
So while working on something, or doing researches in some field, it is needed to consider what positive or negative effect the research will have on different aspects. But the specialization of studies in different fields has made it more difficult.
Writer's examples : The writer has presented two examples to prove his point.
The first example :
The first one is related to medical researches. The modern medical research has succeeded in lowering infant death rate. That is a good thing. But the other aspect of it (lowering death rate) is the world population is increasing, resulting in inadequate (too little/ in short supply) food supply and lowering the standard of life in most populous parts of the world.
The second example :
The second example is related to the knowledge of composition of atom. No doubt this knowledge is highly beneficial for the entire mankind.
But the other aspect of the study is that if this knowledge falls in the hands of some power hungry tyrannical person, s/he will destroy the whole world.
In other words, if the knowledge of atom is misused, it might bring a complete destruction of the world.
Thus every study and research has several aspects, and taking into consideration of each of them is wisdom.
2. A full awareness of the goals of human life :
Only having a sense of proportion or comprehensiveness does not make a man wise.
The next factor of wisdom is thinking for the betterment of man. Knowledge should be related with a certain purpose of life. A person with a true wisdom should be able to calculate how his knowledge will have impact on the world.
The study of history can illustrate it.
Russel has presented the example of Hegel. He was a German philosopher, and had a profound knowledge of history. His philosophy of history did not suffer any lack of comprehensiveness.
But the chief lesson of history he taught that Germany had been the most important nation, and that the Germans were the standard bearers (champions/ leaders) of progress in the world since 400 AD.
He manipulated facts only to prove Germans super heroes. He made them believe that they were a master or a superior race.
What is bad with it ??
This philosophy gave rise to racism and persecution (victimization/ oppression) of Jews and people of other races.
Only comprehensiveness or understanding the actions alone is not enough. It is important to blend information with feelings. Men who have knowledge and no feelings lack wisdom. Although Hegel had a wide knowledge, his feelings were narrow.
[The above two points are about the use of wisdom in social affairs. Wisdom is equally important in private life too. Russell has presented the following points for that.]
3. Choice of ends to be persuaded (We should not set unachievable or impossible targets) :
In personal life every body has to choose for his/her aims, dreams etc. One should be very careful here.
One should be wise enough not to choose highly ambitious or unattainable (unachievable) aims. Such aims can never be fulfilled only valuable time and labour will go in vain.
We can read in history that many people spent their whole life in the search of 'philosopher's stone' or the 'elixir of life'. They never got success because such were unachievable targets, and they wasted their life time.
4. Emancipation from personal prejudices (Freeing oneself and trying others also to make free from the slavery of prejudices) :
It is natural that we all have certain types of prejudices (a strong unreasonable feeling of not liking or trusting somebody or something).We may have unreasonable disliking for some person, place or thing.
But we should try to free ourselves from such things.
To take the writer's example -- suppose two people Mr. A and Mr. B hate each other and continuously try to destroy each other. If you talk to them separately, they will blame each other. Both may be partially true and partially wrong.
Now, wisdom on your part is to make them understand that every person has some weaknesses and flaws, and wisdom is to understand the point. In other words here you should play the role of a peacemaker.
A wise person should himself be free from prejudices, and should also try to make others free from such prejudices. In this sense a wise person should be a peace maker also.
5. Growing impartiality :
The next and most important factor of wisdom is a sense of impartiality. But it's not easy to be completely impartial.
As our senses (like sight, sound, touch etc,) are bound up with our own bodies, they can't be impersonal ( not showing any interest or feeling etc.). The same is the case with emotions (like sadness, anger, happiness etc.). We can't turn entirely impersonal to them.
But we can make a continual approach towards impartiality.
The writer has given the example of children. They are only concerned with their own physical needs, hunger, comforts, discomforts etc.) . They never think about others.
But when they same child grows older, s/he learns to less concerned with his/ her needs. They start to think and consider about others' feelings, emotions, situations too. This is growing impartiality.
Very like a child, we should make a continual approach towards impartiality, and should try to get victory over egoism.. That is growth in wisdom.
Can wisdom be taught ?
After discussing the factors of wisdom, the writer considers if wisdom can be taught. He thinks that wisdom can be and should be taught. It can be taught as a goal of education.
It is only sad that on Sundays we are told to love our neighbours, but on the other six days of the week we are exhorted (encouraged to do something) not to do so.
By presenting the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritans Russell gives the message that we should not only love our friends, or people we like, we must love our enemies also even if they belong to a different religion or a party. Being wise is to keep ourselves away from hatred, and should develop a proper understanding and a broad-mindedness.
Russell has also presented the examples of world leaders who could get victory over hatred, working even with people (or, groups) who were fanatical (dogmatic/ extremist), or aggressive, and were almost antagonistic to this or that group.
In the time of Elizabeth 1st (in England) and Henry IV th (in France) the society was divided into two extreme sides -- either they were ardent (intense/ extreme) followers of protestants, or were Catholics. But both the rulers ruled their countries very peacefully with wisdom. Similarly, the other great personality Russell mentions is Abraham Lincoln (former American President) who ruled his country with a great wisdom.
By the end of the essay the writer says that even the best technicians of the world should also be good citizens.
Here Russell doesn't use the word 'Citizen' in a narrower sense -- he doesn't mean a citizen of this or that country. He means 'Citizen of the world', that is, the citizen of entire humanity.
With every increase of knowledge, we are becoming more capable both in doing great things and also capable of bringing evil and destruction.
So, with every increase of knowledge and skill wisdom becomes more and more necessary.
Questions and their Answers :
Understanding the text :
Answer the following questions :
Question a. What are the factors that contribute to wisdom ?
Answer : The factors contributing to wisdom are the followings :
- A sense of proportion `with comprehensiveness
- A full awareness of the goals of human life
- Choosing one's aims and goals to be persuaded
- Emancipation from personal prejudices
- Growing impartial (emancipation from tyranny of senses)
Answer : By giving the example of technicians, the writer wants to give the message that in the recent times much knowledge has increased in different specialized areas.
Such specialized knowledge required by technicians is so vast and complicated. The specialists and technicians are so busy with knowledge that they can't pay attention to the wisdom part of it.
So the message is that along with knowledge wisdom should also be taken into account of.
Question c : Which leaders does Russell say were to mix knowledge and wisdom soundly ?
Answer : Russell has mentioned three world leaders who were able to mix knowledge and wisdom nicely. They are -- Queen Elizabeth 1st in England, Henry lV th in France, and the former US president Abraham Lincoln.
Question d : Why is wisdom needed not only in public ways, but in private life life equally ?
Answer : As in public ways, wisdom is needed in private life also.
In private life it is needed to help us choose our aims, targets and dreams wisely. The right choice of targets helps to be successful in life. Wisdoms in private life also helps us be free impartialities of life.
Question e. What, according to Russell, is the true aim of education ?
Answer : The true aim of education is to give rise to wisdom in the minds of students along with providing them knowledge.
The aim should be to make the students know the disastrous effects of hatred and narrowmindedness.
Question f : Can wisdom be taught ? If so, how ?
Answer : Yes, wisdom can be taught as a goal of education. But it is not like the customary way of giving moral instructions.
Rather, along with providing knowledge, wisdom should be taught pointing out the disastrous effects of hatred and narrow mindedness.
Question g : Why does the world need more wisdom in the future ?
Answer : The volume of knowledge is increasing every time. If this increase is not balanced with wisdom, it will increase our capacity for (doing) evil. For this reason the world needs more wisdom in future.
Question h: According to Russell "The pursuit of knowledge may become harmful unless it is combined with wisdom." Justify this statement.
Answer : Specialists in different fields of study conduct researches, and generate new knowledge only with a selfless desire for knowledge. But they fail to integrate (combine) their knowledge with wisdom.
They result is that either they don't pay attention to the sense of proportion, or their studies go to the hands of wrong people.
For this reason Russell thinks that the pursuit of knowledge may become harmful unless it is combined with wisdom.
Question i : What according Russell is the essence of wisdom ? And how can one acquire the very essence ?
Answer : The essence of wisdom is emancipation from the tyranny of the current world like evils, greed, personal emotions and prejudices. This can be achieved by a continuous approach towards growing impartiality.
Question j : Why is that we can not help the "egoism of the senses" ?
Answer : We can not help the egoism of our senses (like touch, sight, sound etc.) because they are very much bound up with our bodies. They start from ourselves. They can not be impersonal.
But wisdom is to make a continual approach towards impartiality.
Question k : Why does Russell say that Hegel's philosophy of history was lacking in wisdom ?
Answer : He says so because although Hegel's philosophy of history didn't suffer from a sense of comprehensiveness, it didn't have any awareness of the ends of human life. It didn't care for people's sentimental feelings.
The philosophy gave rise to racism and a genocide of Jews.
If knowledge is not combined with feeling, it does more harm.
Question l : "The pursuit of knowledge may become harmful unless it is combined with wisdom.: Justify the statement.
Answer : The pursuit of knowledge brings us with more information. That makes us more powerful both in good ways and in bad ways. Slightest misuse of knowledge will be dangerous for the entire human being.
So every pursuit of pursuit of knowledge must be combined with wisdom to stop it from being harmful for the humankind.
Question m : What is the author's concept of a citizen ? What is the difference between a citizen of the world and a citizen of a nation ?
Answer : He thinks that best technicians should also be good citizens. His concept of a 'citizen' is different than the normal meaning of the word. By saying 'citizen' of the world he takes the words in a broader way.
Being citizen of the world means taking into consideration the well being and goodness of the people of the entire world.
In contrast being citizen of a country is having a narrower look, it is thinking about one's own society or country.
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[Note : Parable of Good Samaritan:
Who is a Samaritan ? The Samaritans were the people who lived to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The name of the kingdom was Samaria. So the people were called Samaritans.
The parable of the Good Samaritan is told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. It is about a traveller (implicitly understood to be a Jewish) who is attacked, stripped of clothing, beaten, and left half dead alongside the road. After sometime a Jewish priest and then after that a Levite come by, and both of them avoided the man. They didn't help the traveller.
Then a Samaritan happens to come there. Although Samaritans and Jews are antagonistic to each other, the Samaritan helped the traveller.
The message of the parable is that you should love everyone, and should help everyone in trouble even if s/he is your enemy.]
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