An aptitude for folly

Something which I've come to appreciate over time is that foolishness (with its antonym, wisdom), and stupidity (with its antonym, intelligence), are completely different traits. It is quite possible to have a genius who is fundamentally a fool, and a simple pleb who acts (relatively) wisely.

There is, I think, the following relationship between the two:

• Intelligence/stupidity is something of an independent variable.
• Wisdom/foolishness is the dependent variable, reflecting how the person applies their knowledge/understanding as well as their beliefs/principles in their life (in both thought and practice).

The one who thinks and lives in consistency and integrity with what they know/believe is wise, the one who doesn’t is a fool. The intelligent person obviously has a greater capacity for wisdom then, as they also do for foolishness. The simple person may be wise in the little they grasp (hence my use of the term ‘relatively’ above).

There are two broad categories in which wisdom/folly is demonstrated:

• The first is in our point of view. Here, it is wise if our knowledge/beliefs are consistent, foolish otherwise (no pun intended).
• The second category is in practice. An action is wise if it is consistent with our knowledge/beliefs, and foolish otherwise. This category may be further divided into whether we alter the internal (change our mind), or the external (actually do something).


(Obviously, different people have different views, and so what one may deem as wise, another may deem as foolish. In this situation, we need to examine the first category of both parties).

There are obviously different areas and levels of wisdom/folly. For example, if I think that pressing my belly-button will activate a self-destruct sequence, I would be wise to avoid pressing my belly-button. Whether that particular belief is wise or not is another thing.

If a person generally demonstrates wisdom in each area of their knowledge/beliefs and actions, they may be considered to be wise. If they are deeply intelligent, and demonstrate wisdom down to the deepest levels of their understanding and acting, they may be considered to be deeply wise. But if they are inconsistent/lack integrity at their deepest level, (though even perhaps being wise until this stage), they may be considered to be deeply foolish.

There is an important relationship between what we practice and what we hold to/our point of view. This process centres upon that intellectual act, the decision. As we learn and increase in our understanding, we will find ourselves making either wise or foolish decisions as to how we will respond to such gains (here I am considering the internal response). We may act wisely by accepting or rejecting the particulars in accordance with what we already hold. And what we hold is in turn determined by what we have previously accepted.

It may be that we reach a certain state of understanding which seriously questions what we already hold to, and we may have to make a significantly (wise or foolish) decision as to how we will respond. A good example of this would be when someone changes (or vindicates) their worldview. A greater example would be when someone changes (or vindicates) the methodological paradigm by which they perceive existence. Whatever the case may be, a wise decision will be in accordance with what is held in the deeper levels of a person’s heart/mind, and at the expense of what is held at the shallower levels, where the inconsistencies were found.

Our upbringing will, to begin with, determine the majority of what we hold to, but at the deepest levels we all have self-awareness with a fundamental rationality inextricably associated with it. Fortunately then, we are not bound to any errors inherited into our point of view via our upbringing – if we endeavour to be wise it is possible that we will be able to arrive at truth.

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Obviously this all depends on my particular definition of wisdom/foolishness. My main source of literature on this subject is the bible, and I think that the view which I’ve outlined above is consistent with the biblical view of it. At the very least, I think it is a useful concept (with its distinction from intelligence), and one which I will continue to employ.