Philosophy
Out of context: Reply #13
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- sarahfailin0
I think a lot of philosophers would distinguish 'wisdom' from knowledge or intelligence. Wisdom isn't knowing how to bake a perfect cake, or how to take apart a car engine, or how to calculate multivariable derivitives in your head. A snake knows very well how to silently stalk its prey, instinctively, but that is not wisdom, because it is only the snake fulfilling the essence of being a snake.
Wisdom, on the other hand, seems to be transcendent knowledge-- an awareness of a deeper or different level of existence. For Plato and Socrates this was the realm of the ideal. For Buddha it's an awakening to enlightenment.
There's a kind of truth that can't be conveyed directly with words. If this truth is attainable, then that is wisdom. If it is not attainable, then maybe pursuing it is wisdom. Philosophy is the beginning of individual human life.