############################Hi Folks,
A central focus of the UTOK Garden philosophy is how to turn knowledge into wisdom. I saw this op ed piece from David Brooks and had mixed reactions:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/15/opinion/wisdom-attention-listening.html
My basic reaction was that Brooks is writing about what might be called “relational wisdom”. Indeed, much of what he describes here represents the way I try to teach people to position themselves in the psychotherapy room. Namely, you want to hear someone’s story with deep attention, honor it, and reflect on aspects of it such that they might digest a new perspective and find pathways for growth. This is, indeed, a key part of wisdom and something that we should all seek to cultivate in ourselves to the extent possible.
However, from my knowledge-into-wisdom vantage point, the analysis misses the wisdom of the sage/shaman. The capacity for esoteric analysis that allow one to see through the fog of conventional understanding and elucidate patterns that escape the masses and point to new ways of being. The knowledge-into-wisdom of Einstein’s vision of the cosmos, for example. Or the classic Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
Bottom line is that wisdom is, of course, many things. But Brooks article sparked in me the difference between wise relating and wise seeing. It was an interesting connection precisely because the central bridge that the UTOK forms is between wise relating in the therapy room and wise knowledge that frames and guides it.
Best,
Gregg___________________________________________
Gregg Henriques, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Graduate Psychology
216 Johnston Hall
MSC 7401
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
(540) 568-7857 (phone)
(540) 568-4747 (fax)
Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity.Check out the Unified Theory Of Knowledge homepage at:
https://www.unifiedtheoryofknowledge.org/
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