Wisdom And Wisdom

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Recommended: Socrates specific understanding of wisdom

Mrs. Kasper
AP Literature
10 February 2014
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom,” urged Aristotle. Wisdom contains many qualities that are valuable to have. These qualities are experience, knowledge, and good judgment. These traits and abilities are essential in insight and understanding that attribute to an effective person. Wisdom is a virtue that develops as one is able to learn from experiences and mistakes. However, the wisdom that Aristotle believed in went beyond the average wisdom of being able to understand concepts or have insight different from others. The wisdom Aristotle believed in was practical wisdom. Practical wisdom is the ability to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right intent. According to Aristotle, this virtue is what makes all the other virtues a possibility. It is practical wisdom that gives one the ability to change one’s flaws because it is a characteristic that is bound with action and reason. It is the ability to have the information and apply it correctly. Along with the ability of understanding others, also comes self-awareness, and with the ability to apply action, one can develop and change for the better. In the novel, Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, Charlotte Lucas possesses limited self-awareness; she is aware of the consequences that can come from her choices, but doesn’t choose to apply action for her own self-contentment. Mr. Bennet is also aware at times of his behavior, which is evident through his intelligence and wit, but doesn’t choose to take action, therefore lacking practical wisdom. Through the various conversations and narrations, Austen takes a resolute stand about the need for men to not only understand others, but to know oneself enough to turn we...

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...ove his lack of responsible action, and Charlotte Lucas’s inability to take action on achieving contentment, serve as character foils to Elizabeth, illuminating her ability to evaluate her mistakes and take action for the better good. Bennet dismissed his chance to change not because he couldn’t, but because he did not want to. Although he was an intelligent man, it does no good to be smart if one cannot apply intelligence towards self-awareness and towards applying action in turning foibles into strengths Charlotte, also an intelligent character, failed to apply a balance of reasoning and action in her decision, sacrificing a lifetime of happiness for comfort and economic stability. Therein lies the value of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: It emphasizes that in life, self-awareness is nothing, unless action and reasoning are used in every opportunity to change.

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