2. Knowledge, Wisdom, and the Wise Man

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• Experience vs. Wisdom: Experience tells us that something is so; wisdom tells us why it is so by grasping causes
• The Hierarchy of Knowledge: Sensation → Memory → Experience → Universal Knowledge (Art) → Wisdom about First Causes
• The Wise Man: Analysis of what we mean by ’the wise man’ through six distinguishing characteristics
• Causality and Command: The wise person knows causes and therefore commands; those who merely follow orders lack this knowledge
• The Three Operations: Thomas Aquinas’s distinction between motion (the act of the imperfect), operation (the act of the perfect), and the terminology for discussing them

Key Arguments #

Knowledge of Causes as Superior Knowledge #

• The chief artist (master craftsman) is wiser than the subordinate because he knows why things must be done a certain way
• Example: A great chef knows why ingredients must be cut in particular ways; a kitchen assistant merely follows orders without understanding the reason
• The general commanding troops knows the overall strategy and reason for orders; soldiers merely executing orders do not
• Therefore: knowing the cause makes one wiser than merely knowing that something is effective

The Ability to Teach as a Sign of Knowledge #

• True knowledge allows one to teach; mere experience does not
• If asked why something should be done a certain way, the person of mere experience cannot fully answer
• The artist (one who knows universals and causes) can teach; the experienced person cannot
• This is the third sign of wisdom in Aristotle’s account

Motion vs. Operation (Operatio) #

• Motion (motus) is the act of what is imperfect, the act of what is able to be insofar as it is still able to be
• Operation (operatio) is the act of what is perfect, the act of the actual
• Examples of motion: walking home (you haven’t arrived yet); learning (you’re still acquiring knowledge)
• Examples of operation: understanding, seeing, hearing (when you understand something, you have understood it; the act is complete in itself)
• The word “doing” (rather than “motion” or “operation”) may be more useful in English to describe all three Thomistic categories: being moved, moving another, and the perfect act

The Role of Form vs. Doing #

• Form is what a thing is (its substantial or accidental form)
• Doing is the activity or operation performed
• A sphere is the form of clay; molding it into a sphere is the doing
• The distinction parallels the difference between being and acting

Important Definitions #

• Wisdom (Sophia): Knowledge of first causes and beginnings; the highest form of knowledge
• Art (Techne): Knowledge of universals with understanding of causes; distinguished from mere experience
• Experience (Empeiria): Collection of many memories of similar things
• First Causes (Archai): The ultimate principles from which all knowledge derives
• Motion (Motus): The act of the imperfect; the act of what is able to be insofar as it is still able to be (in Latin)
• Operation (Operatio): The act of the perfect; the act of what is actual (in Latin); Berquist suggests “doing” as an English equivalent
• Doing: An activity; can refer to motion, to moving another, or to the perfect act
• Making (Facere): A type of doing that produces an external product (e.g., building a chair)
• First Philosophy: Another name Aristotle uses for wisdom; focuses on first causes and beginnings

Examples & Illustrations #

• Wine Storage: Experience teaches to lay bottles on their side; wisdom understands that the cork dries out if upright, allowing air to spoil the wine
• Cooking: A chef knows to cut potatoes a certain way for french fries tonight versus a different way tomorrow; understanding the final purpose (french fries vs. something else) explains why the cuts differ
• Gender and Parenthood: Fathers tend to disown children who don’t follow their path (seeing the child as continuation of self); mothers less likely to disown (seeing child as fulfillment of self). The wise person understands why these patterns exist
• Medical Practice: A man in the hospital waiting for his second child, saying “you got what you wanted” when told his first was a boy—reveals that the father desires a son (continuation), while a mother desires a healthy baby (fulfillment)
• Teaching Building: A builder (Pat) must correct instructions from someone giving orders because the latter doesn’t understand the reasons behind the proper methods
• Greek Language Study: Berquist’s teacher at Zurich insisted he study Greek; only later did Berquist understand why—to read original texts directly rather than rely on faulty translations. The teacher, as chief artist, saw the end purpose; Berquist, as subordinate, merely followed orders
• Euclid: Similarly, after college, the teacher insisted Berquist get a copy of Euclid; Berquist didn’t understand the reason at the time
• Stone Falling: When you drop a stone, it falls; one can say the stone is “doing” something (falling) even though it is being moved by gravity
• Ice Cube Melting: When you take an ice cube out of the icebox and leave it on the counter, it melts—an example of “doing” something while being acted upon by heat
• Butter Melting: Similarly, when butter is placed on a hot pan, it melts—doing something while being acted upon
• Understanding and Completion: When understanding something, the act is already complete (operative), unlike walking where you haven’t reached home yet (motional)
• General and Troops: A military general knows the strategic reason for troop deployment; individual soldiers executing orders do not understand the overall purpose
• Translations: Poor translations of philosophical and scriptural texts can reverse the original meaning. Until translators are philosophers and philosophers are translators, translations will be inadequate. Green volumes (Loeb Classical Library) of Greek and Latin texts sometimes have egregiously faulty translations
• Teaching Philosophy: A student said to a philosophy teacher, “Why are you doing this to me?” showing resistance to learning something difficult

Notable Quotes #

“The experienced know that it is so, but do not know why it is so. But these know why it is so, and the cause, and the cause is answering the question why.” - Aristotle, on the superiority of knowledge over mere experience

“The man who knows why it is so, knows that it is so too, right? But he knows the cause now, right? He’s much wiser than the man who just really knows that it is so.” - Berquist, explicating the fundamental distinction

“Motion is the act of the imperfect, huh? The act of what is able to be as such.” - On the definition of motion (motus) in Aristotle

“Operation… is the act of the perfect, right?” - On the definition of operation (operatio) in Thomas Aquinas

“Until translators are philosophers, or philosophers are translators, you can have bad translations.” - Berquist, paralleling Plato’s saying about philosophers and kings

Questions Addressed #

• What is the difference between knowing that something is so and knowing why it is so? The former is characteristic of experience; the latter constitutes true wisdom. Knowledge of causes is superior and marks the truly wise person.
• Why is the ability to teach a sign of true knowledge? Because teaching requires understanding causes, not merely knowing that something works through experience. One cannot fully teach what one does not understand causally.
• Can the man of mere experience teach? No, because he knows that things should be done a certain way but cannot explain why. When asked the reason, he cannot fully respond.
• Is it forced to say that a stone or ice cube “does” something when it is being acted upon? No; the usage is natural. When we ask what the stone or ice cube is doing, saying “falling” or “melting” is not forced, even though these things are being acted upon by external causes.
• How do motion and operation differ? Motion is the act of what is still imperfect (still becoming), while operation is the act of what is already perfect (already actual). Understanding is an operation; learning is a motion.
• What is the relationship between form and doing? Form is what a thing is; doing is activity performed. These are distinct categories. The spherical form of clay is not the same as the doing of molding.

Philosophical Principles #

• The Hierarchy of Knowledge: Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle, shows how knowledge progresses from sensation (known to all) through memory, experience, and universal knowledge (art) to wisdom about first causes
• Universality and Causality: The wise person grasps universal principles and first causes, which is why wisdom is superior to experience of particular cases
• The Principle of Non-Identity of Operations: Motion and operation are not the same; the act of understanding is not the same as the act of learning