A wise person may have some specialized knowledge. Wisdom is taking the right course of action in the vast majority of life’s situations where the moral rules do not clearly apply. Wisdom is not less than abiding by a designated set of moral rules, but certainly it is much more. The remark about specialists and generalists did lead me to think about wisdom and where it comes from. (An aside: I don’t know how much better off we’d be, if at all, if generalists talked to other generalists about generalities, because if that’s all they did, their theories would never become comprehensive nor coherent or deep and detailed enough to ultimately do anyone any good.) It is good to have generalists, so long as they talk to specialists and glean enough deep knowledge to then put pieces together in a way that hangs together, that makes sense. I think someone who is intellectually curious and prolific enough can roam wherever they would like, though I do agree that the incentives run in the other direction. This same pundit said scholars who were generalists did exist in a previous age (a few decades ago), but cannot exist in today’s academy. Last week I heard someone bemoan the lack of generalists in the academy, people publishing in multiple fields across multiple disciplines, offering grand theories of everything in the study of politics, economics, and social science. Occasionally these conversations yield fresh insight that breaks new ground, all because of a profound connection. It is even better when specialists talk to other specialists across specialities. I serve in higher education, where most of the people around me know a whole lot about a few things within a narrow field. When a good pitch presents itself, turn it around with a good swing. It’s tough to learn how to take a good swing if you have never taken the risk of committing a few bad ones. When what’s underfoot is discovered to be sandy or shaky, you can continue the search for bedrock elsewhere. Socrates exposed the weaknesses in arguments, and for that, he is remembered as one of the greatest and wisest philosophers who walked the earth. Better to know you stand on a shoddy foundation before a crisis comes. Dialogue can sharpen arguments, solidifying the footing. If we encounter others on an identical quest, we may help one another. Wisdom is the kind of thing that increases in value the more it is shared. Once we arrive upon solid answers, we offer them up. We’re here to search for meaning, divine right from wrong, distinguish good from evil, develop a moral vision, answer ultimate questions, and build a life based on conviction. Instead, form convictions and make claims. Don’t quiver and qualify and then go quiet. Touch’em all.įear of criticism, social media backlash, the appearance of looking foolish, or the possibility an argument will fall flat keeps too many from taking the bat off their shoulder or stepping into the box at all. Or, if you connect on the sweet spot, crack, that ball might carry over the wall. If you stand in there, keep your eye on the ball, time it right, and everything comes together at just the right moment, a liner might find a gap between the chalk populated only by green grass. You could even take a mighty swing and, whoosh, miss.Įven a failed attempt can lead to gain, if you learn from the experience. You could get fooled on the curve and hit a chopper to short. When a good pitch presents itself, take a swing. Learn how to pick out a pitch worth the chance. Learn to discern between a ball and a strike. People have a longing to hear, reason, wrestle, question, think, and apply what makes sense. But the effort is made.Īnd it should be made, not only because the preacher or teacher may have something to say. I spend a lot of my time around preachers and teachers, people entering the fray week after week offering sermons and talks to congregants and parishioners, members of the public, saints and sinners, together seeking to make sense of it all.Ĭlaims are made, arguments are formed, stories told, illustrations tendered, questions raised, answers given, each in search of the truth about existence, meaning, life, and everything.
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