The stockpiles of human knowledge grow exponentially
And wisdom, like needling a haystack
Says, “What the hay?!”
Finding better questions is where it’s at
Not how fast you can shovel it
Nor how big your pitchfork is
Rather what thread follows
And sew what
This short poem is a tribute to questioning with a purpose. Unfettered skepticism produces cynicism. Wisdom recognizes that some questions are better than others. In fact, what questions you ask determines what answers you get. This poem cuts through the exponential amassing of knowledge by honing our attention to that which mends our reality together into a meaningful whole. Without meaning full questions to guide our inquiries, greater access to knowledge simply leads to greater confusion. The attraction and distraction of a tsunami of available answers to questions, i.e., knowledge, can actually hamper wisdom. Now, this isn’t some anti-intellectual argument. This simply recognizes that intellect lacking wisdom is much less fruitful, even dangerous. The quests for scientific knowledge and wisdom are consonant. Both seek to integrate knowledge into an ever greater whole. Knowledge that serves the whole, as opposed to just some part of reality, is a better quality of knowledge. Knowledge isn’t just about bits and pieces, mere facts; true knowledge is about a deeper understanding of the relationship of these parts to each other, and most importantly, the whole. Wisdom has a deep respect for the whole, and an even deeper reverence for the fact that the ever greater whole can only be tentatively and incompletely described. Thus, wisdom is characterized by both humility and curiosity. Wisdom opposes militant ideologies and apathy. In fact, militant ideologies are simply ideologies that have lost humility and curiosity and stopped seeking out the ever-elusive, ever-greater whole, which is at least partially represented by those outside a militant ideology. This fact escapes many trapped in militant ideologies because they mistake totality for unity. Wisdom is an inoculation against militancy, fascism, and fundamentalism. This is because the humility and curiosity of wisdom breeds a generous attitude in seeking a harmonious relationship with the whole. The openness of wisdom is not merely a corollary of the tentativeness of empirical skepticism and scientific reductionism; it is is rooted in the positive appreciation for the value of the “other” which comprise the yet-undiscovered aspects of reality and ineluctable mystery. This may be your enemy. This may be God. It may be both. A generosity transcending mere openness is made possible by a trust or faith in the whole being more valuable than the parts, even the sum of the parts. This faith is as essential to healthy scientific investigation as it is to loving human relationships. This simply assumes, or prefers, science that serves the whole rather than some special interest. This simply assumes, or prefers, human relationships that don’t reduce humans to things to be manipulated, but beings to be appreciated. The generosity of wisdom is the mother to its only true child: kindness. In humility, stripped of arrogance and egocentricity, and equipped with an overpowering curiosity and a transcendent appreciation of the “other,” only kindness remains. And all good will follow.
