Wise Words? Knowledge vs Wisdom

Whats the difference between humans and animals? Songs like The Horizon has been Defeated by Jack Johnson suggest that the difference is very minimal, we're "lonely and only animals with fancy shoes." On the other hand, it seems to be a quality of certain religious thought systems that man has dominion over animals, as they are further away from God from man. We find ideas like this all over the bible (at least according to online bible tools, the bible is the one book ill use spark notes for) and I just read a parody of this idea in Small Gods, by Terry Pratchet. But what is the quality of humanity which grants this dominion? In a word, what the bible says is that we're made in God's image. Setting aside theological difference for a second, lets suppose this is true. Imaging that such a thing was possible, how would that be true exactly? Are we closer to God because he's humanoid and we share his bipedal stance and opposable thumbs? Monkeys fit this same description, so are they closer to God than the rest of the animal kingdom?

Faith as a way of thinking would discourage this question from being asked and probably call it Blasphemy, but Im going to blaspheme further and try to establish the truth of this question. Because despite its appearance as simple religious bashing from a kid whose still not over the TV time he lost to church, I do think there's an important question here. Namely: what is the essence of humanity? What is the aspect of humanity whose removal would require, demand even a reclassification of the whole?

Well, to follow the creationist myth just one or two steps further, it might have something to do with the ability to invent. After all, an essential element of a God or God system is its ability to create the universe. Thats why people have been killing each over them since before civilization, they're all mutually exclusive. Its not like music, where my liking Rush does not depend on anyone elses doing anything else, thus giving me  no need to feel threatened by other people's choice of music (though it still happens sometimes). But in the case of religions, for my God to be true, yours must be false.

So if what makes people closer to God is the ability to create complex universes of matter, humans do at least fit this in terms of exclusivity. Its true that fancy shoes and their like have been popular amongst humans for centuries, and even though such a fascination may seem silly to some, it is indisputable that of the known universe we are the only creature whose ilk would spend their whole existence making something other people walk on.  

Then maybe it can be said that making things is essential to humans. After all, I think if you removed the humans ability to make things, to use tools and form languages and use these tools for arbitrary means, I don't think we would be human anymore. 

But how do we make things? What ought we to make? What makes the shoe maker different from any other human? Well, a lot of it comes down to how we use the mind. And in the dichotomous nature of maybe the universe but certainly this blog, it breaks down into two categories with oodles of overlap: Knowledge and Wisdom. 

So what's the difference between Knowledge and Wisdom? Well in a word, knowledge is knowing how to make the shoes, and wisdom is knowing yourself to be a shoemaker. Its much deeper than that, but no more complicated.

Luckily, despite their intertwined nature, Knowledge and Wisdom can be separated for the purpose of understanding, so lets examine them as a means of answering our extended question: since humans make things, what ought we to make? Lets examine knowledge first, as it's what we're exposed to first at least in the American education system.

As I said before, Knowledge is knowing how to make a shoe. Its the details of what makes a shoe work. Everything from what materials to use, to the art of stitching, to how they might be used as a vessel of creative expression. In essence, knowledge is externally derived information. It is details, skills, facts, everything which is objective and provably true in the world. Its cold and hard as a knife, but it has utility. It helps us solve problems, which is an excellent thing because as Im sure you know, the world is full of problems right now. More than were here this morning by most measures, yet somehow inescapably less than will be tomorrow. 

HOWEVER, its important not to get too discouraged by this fact. The reason we have so many problems is because we managed to grow so much as a species. Yes we are threatening the planet right now, we need to learn a big lesson in order to have a safe home for humans growing forward and maybe upward, but thats only because we've worked so hard to create so much stuff. 

Its hard, especially in my position as someone who grew up in a society when climate change was already common knowledge and then at one point worked in an Amazon factory, to see the value in what late stage era Capitalism has created. Because while knowledge has produced much, I sit here in total disdain for the whole system and the synthetic environment it created.

Yes I sit here typing on a computer, Im gonna upload this to the internet before I go to sleep tonight and it will have the potential to be viewed by millions of people, though in practice it may be viewed by a cherished few. Yes I was born into a world which can heal its citizens (at a price of course) yes Im lucky enough to be sitting in college right now. I do know all of this, but what I don't know is if what we have made with our knowledge has utility worthy of our efforts. I can write on this computer but I could just as well have these same thoughts on paper. Yes I can upload this to the internet but thats an environment which has different difficulties than the print era. Yes I'm lucky enough to be alive right now, but if I don't want to be than what's the point? The state of the environment causes existential dread for millions, so how was it allowed to be created? How did we let all these systems for creating and distributing cheap plastic crap get in the way of the joy of being alive?

Well when I talk to people of a slightly more theological background, which need I remind you dear reader we are still not out from under the weight of as a global society, the answer to how this was all allowed is pretty clear. To be blunt: the Earth is God's creation. The (God(s)) created the earth as a place for humans to be and crafted humans in the image of God(s); humanity and earth are as inseparable as knowledge and wisdom. If we can kill earth, we can kill God. And that would be impossible. 

But, the science is in. We can kill the Earth. Its also entirely possible that nothing exists after life, and our ability to provide life for future generations is being called into question for the first time in human history. Yes there have been terrible leaders in our global history prior to now from Hitler to Khan who have threatened humanity as a species, but no matter what you believe the characteristics of humanity were made for Earth. Side trek, this is one thing I find really hard to enjoy about Star trek. I know it was a low budget show during the golden era featuring its original creator, but frankly if there is life on other planets I doubt they would be bipedal consciousness machines with maybe a different skin color or like a forked tongue or three boobs or something. Im hoping that one of them was smart enough to not invent gender, but I doubt if I'll ever know.

But getting back to reality as all fantasies must do eventually, what is someone in my position to do? I know I may be weird and obscure in the eyes of many, but I do know for a fact that I am not the only person of my generation who looks at the waste of capitalism and wants to do something different. Needs to do something different. But what could this possibly be?

Well, thats the piece Im still working, the wisdom of what to do next. Wisdom is the on other side of the coin from knowledge. Wisdom is the question of the mind, knowledge is the answer. And in modern education, it seems an effort has been made to point people towards a very specific line of questioning. Specifically, how am I to survive? What classes and career choice will land me the safest life going forward? If I maybe want a family someday, how am I going to be able to afford a good place to send my children to school, and food to eat, and what if they want this same college opportunity I have, what then? 

Amazingly, in the midst of this strict mindset, some teachers do manage to come through and actually teach something. True education is done by getting people to ask the right questions and trusting the knowledge of experience to help them in getting the answer. Just because something can be externally inspired does not mean it was externally derived. Wisdom can be carried in everything from memes to movies to platitudes, but the wisdom of others is not in the conclusion they arrived in but the direction they provided for your own line of questioning. So I did learn that the earth was changing in school and I also learned how to ask questions of machines and how to formulate expressive English, so even though I hated high school it would not be fair to suggest that I didn't learn anything. Even by my own strict standard of what counts as learning.

So with the ability to ask questions that I have gained, my question for right at this moment is still: what ought I to do? To be fair I didn't think to ask this question in a serious way until I started approaching philosophy formally, but even so its frustrating to still not know the answer at this point in my life. Everyone in my graduating class in college is already working, and even most of my younger college age peers have plans right after school ends. So what ought I to do?

Well personally I want to use my combined understanding of computers, writing, and humans to help the world heal. How though, is a continuing question which will continue to earn new answers all throughout my life. Thats the real challenege of life. Not how to do anything, but what. What mark do you want to make on the giant stone tablet of time? In a world which will wash away all you build, all you think and feel, all you love, what can be said to have any value? 

For this, the true question of human existence, I think the answer is  the thing you want to do even though it will be washed away. Maybe even because it will be. I may want to help the world heal, but that does not mean I think anything I do will become history or even be worth talking about a week after I pass. Rather, I want to help heal the earth so that when Im walking in the world, near the end of my days, I'll know that I tried to give back to it some of the love it gave to me. 

Thats all I have to say. Really happy this finally happened again. Quick shout out to Whispers of the Heart for giving me the inspiration to actually get this part of my soul singing again.