Leading Wisely

1Not knowing

Knowledge is learning something new every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day.

—Zen proverb

The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.

—William Shakespeare

Not knowing

According to Plato, the renowned Greek philosopher Socrates went to this temple of Apollo in ancient Thebes and asked the Pythia, the Oracle, ‘Who is the wisest person in Athens.’ The oracle replied, ‘It is you.’

‘That is impossible,’ said Socrates, ‘because I am aware that I know nothing.’

‘That,’ said the Oracle, ‘is exactly why you are the wisest person in Athens.’

Socrates recognized that there was so much he did not know. Knowing this, however, may have been precisely the reason that made him wiser than all the others. It was this awareness of his own ignorance that differentiated him. Thus, in a rather paradoxical way, Socrates expressed that he knew nothing except that he knew that he knew nothing – in short, he recognized the many unknowns in his world. However, does the possession of wisdom imply knowing that you don't know? Is it the acceptance of your own ignorance? Thus, the greatest wisdom may very well lie in the explicit recognition that one is not all knowing.

Hopefully, you have entered a stage of life when you realize how little you know. Of course, you may think, somewhat nostalgically, about your younger years when you thought that you knew everything, but if you are truly in pursuit of wisdom, these thoughts will be fleeting. ...