The Search for Wisdom

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The Search for Wisdom
Wisdom, as defined in the dictionary, is "the sum of learning through the ages; knowledge". Plato's Socrates indicates that wisdom is the acknowledgement of ignorance. This statement may be hard to prove as true. If a deaf and dumb man came to realize that he knew nothing, because he is not able to learn it, does this make him wise? I do not believe so. Then, if a prominent professor who has studied for years and has learned many things, comes to believe that he is ignorant to the true ways of the world, does that make him wise? Possibly so. So, what is the difference here? The difference is knowledge. I believe, and the dictionary points to the fact that, one must contain a great deal of knowledge to be wise.

In Apology, Socrates says that "What is probable, gentlemen, is the fact that the god is wise and that his oracular response meant that human wisdom is worth little or nothing..." This statement comes from Socrates after he has searched Athens for a person that was wise. It may be true that his god was wise, as gods are usually all-knowing beings. But what makes a god wise? It must be his knowledge of all earthly things. Then, why is human wisdom worth little or nothing? It may seem like human wisdom is worth little or nothing in comparison with the wisdom of the gods, though in comparison to other humans, why should human wisdom be worth little or nothing? I believe...

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