Saturday, January 19, 2013

Wisdom: The Quest for Meaning




       
The quest for meaning in life has been already the saga of man since the beginning of time. Man’s encounter with his ‘situatedness’ has taught him lessons which he embraced as true and necessary for his existence. These grasps of lessons on ‘practical truth’ that he holds steadfastly has been his ‘owned’ way of life as  he learn to adapt himself to the changing environment, emerging challenges and to the demands of human development in relationship with other human beings.

To exist, man learned to organize himself. This human interaction has opened him to other experiences, ideas and speculations. Thus, human valuing through time has been constantly changing or improving as new civilizations develop with different cultures and perspectives. But amidst passing time, every generation leaves a legacy behind-- their thoughts of wisdom became a tradition and consolation of the newer breed of societies they somewhat never imagine to exist.

Marshal is the Hebrew word for wisdom. It is associated with word-group expressing ‘power’ or ‘rule;’ other meaning is connoting ‘comparison’ or ‘model.’ One of the books of Wisdom literature, the Proverbs, under the name of the encyclopedic Solomon, is a manual of didactic material. It is a source book of instruction containing several distinct compilations brought together and edited from a specific religious viewpoint some time during the period of the Second Temple. The book serves as manual for the education of the young.[1] It concludes on an explicitly religious note with the reminder that: The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction (Prov 1:7). Fear of God was the basis and also the culminating point of wisdom. This fear was a humble and obedient attitude toward God; although not yet the filial respect depicted in the New Testament, it was the profound reverence of a pure heart.

It is one of the basic goals of the sages, not only in Israel, but  elsewhere in the ancient Near East: to bring human conduct into line with a cosmic law of regularity and order observable in the sequence of seasons, the movements of the heavenly bodies and the like. To be wise is, in a word, to live in conformity with the law of nature.

For the Greeks, the love of wisdom is exercised in Philosophy--reasoning as a way of life. From the time of Plato and Aristotle, and even earlier, philosophy has been largely concerned with helping man to understand the basic, ordered pattern of the universe, and man's relationship to man. In some periods philosophers have sought to help men discover the meaning of God and in the light of this meaning to live lives of goodness and rightness. At other times, philosophers have concluded that men could live morally without believing in God. All philosophies involve the critical analysis of concepts which many people accept in blind faith.[2] Notably,  on Plato’s view: "wisdom such as God possesses" is already known and available to us, even before the loving search for this truth, that is, philosophizing, has begun.[3]

As time goes by, Philosophy acquires its vivacity and its inner tension through its counterpoint to the theological. It is thence that philosophy derives the spice, the poignancy of the existential.[4] The quotation, "which philosophy one chooses depends on what type of person one is", stems from Fichte.[5] It opened a stage for relativism and ‘consequentialism.’ Although, much of contemporary philosophy has implied a negation of the concept of God like Nietzsche, many twentieth-century philosophers like Buber, Tillich and Maritain have found themselves closer to the tradi­tional religious points of view. They recognize the need for a new set of moral values as well as do the agnostics in the philosophical fraternity, but they believe that such values can be found by a re-examination and a redefini­tion of religious principles.[6] But as Christians, amidst these temptations to rationalize, we should embrace a philosophy or wisdom which is deeply rooted in Christianity.

Christian philosophy is able to realize in purer form a genuine sense of wonder, which is, after all, based on not knowing. One of the great thinkers of our age, who takes his guid­ance from St. Thomas Aquinas, has stated that the most distinctive feature of Christian philosophizing is not that it has at its disposal more pol­ished solutions but rather that it possesses "to a greater degree than any other philosophy" a sense of mystery.

In a changing world, however, old concepts and values have to be re-examined. With the increasing importance of scientific discovery, many of the traditional ideas about the order of the universe began to change. With increasing economic progress and greater material comfort for individuals, both spiritual and ethical values have undergone subtle changes. In the middle of the nineteenth century, many keen thinkers sensed an Inadequacy and inapplica­bility in much previous thought. The world, for these new philosophers, did not seem to be based on a neat and tidy absolute rule. The problem of man's existence had to be re-examined. New solutions were needed, new answers had to be found.[7]
            
Thus, Christian philosophy will be brought to full expression by someone who has not only "learned" and is familiar with what it means to be Christian—someone to whom it is not only a "doctrine" with which he, at a purely conceptual level, brings his conclusions into theoretical alignment and agreement—but rather by someone who allows the Christian to become a reality within himself and who, not simply knowing and learning, but rather "suffering" and experiencing reality, acquires Christian truth for himself  on the basis of a genuine community of nature and from this vantage point philosophizes about the natural causes of the world's reality and about the meaning of life as well.[8]

As conditions change and man's environment becomes different, the mind of man must construct new philosophies for new times. What Plato and Aristotle did for their times, the thinkers of these recent days have done for theirs. And the mind of the philosopher, ever alert and sensitive to change, will continue to meet the challenges of the future as they arise.[9]
Paul Tillich, a German Protestant theologian, sees a true "God above the God of Theism." For Tillich, religion is man's striving for the ultimate, the abso­lute. There can be no atheistic society, since striving for any absolute is, by definition, religious activity, and the point of a society's existence is to strive toward a goal. In spite of a possible lack of meaning in existence, faith con­stitutes acceptance of what is given.[10]

For Christians, wisdom also has the notion of prudence wherein prudence is acknowledge as a virtue. St. Thomas Aquinas defines prudence as correct knowledge concerning things to be done. Wisdom is the greatest gift of God: it gives man the light and force to seek his salvation in the love of God and to contemplate and to love all things in that light and love alone. Prudence acts as counselor and director in setting the standard for the other virtues.  All other virtues depend on prudence. Moreover, prudence disposes the practical reason to discern, in every circumstance, our true good and to choose the right means for achieving it.[11]

Further, Dominic M. Prummer, OP, explained St. Thomas Aquianas’ exposition on prudence on his book “Handbook of Moral Theology:” prudence to be a perfect(integral) act needs these eight pre-requisites: 1. memory, like the recalling of the past; 2. intellect, like a clear knowledge of the present; 3. docility, like a readiness to learn; 4. shrewdness, like a quick conjecture regarding the means to be used 5. reason, like a readiness to infer one thing from another; 6. providence, like a consideration of future events; 7. circumspection, like a careful consideration of circumstances; and, 8. caution, like a care in avoiding evil and obstacle. Thus, it is very related to knowledge, understanding, intelligence, and experience.

Prudence as a practical wisdom, and as in moral theology, aims to lead the human person, its subject, toward the end through ‘good human acts.’ In his journey in life, human person is directed by his conscience, guided by law. His movement to the ultimate end– like God, happiness, etc.– is strengthened by virtue, sometimes frustrated by sin, but always aided by Grace of God. To be virtuous, is what ethics is all about. Our human actions  are s also guided by law which leads us not suddenly but gradually. The immediate norm of our actions is our conscience.

Aside from the bible, Catholics are lead by Magisterial texts. These always bear provisions of wisdom which serve as their prudent guide in responding  to different social issues.  “Everyone should put his hand to the work which falls to his share, and that at once and straightway, lest the evil which is already so great become, through delay, absolutely beyond remedy,” and he added, “in regard to the Church, her cooperation will never be found lacking.[12]”As God’s people, they constantly refer to their rich Church tradition as how they reflect on new challenges of their time.

Wisdom was acquired by prayer. Man found it difficult to raise his thoughts toward God. The Holy Spirit was simultaneously a counselor and a living force (Wisd 9: 4-6,15-18).



[1] Joseph Blankinsopp, p.17.
[2] S.E. Frost, Jr. Ph. D., Basic Teachings of the Great Philopers, rev. ed. (Double Day: New York, 1989) p.263.
[3] Josef Piefer, For the Love of Wisdom and Other Works, (Paulist Press: New York, 1988), p 70.
[4] Josef Piefer, p 70.
[5] Josef Piefer, p 79.
[6] S.E. Frost, Jr. Ph. D., Basic Teachings of the Great Philopers, rev. ed. (Double Day: New York, 1989) p.270,
[7] p.263,
[8] Josef Piefer, p.79
[9] S.E. Frost, Jr. Ph. D., Basic Teachings of the Great Philopers, rev. ed. (Double Day: New York, 1989) p.270,
[10] [10] S.E. Frost, Jr. Ph. D., p.270.
[11] Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1835.

[12] Centesimus Annus, n. 56

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