"KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM "by Bertrand Russell

"KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM "by Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
About Bertrand Russell: British philosopher, logician, essayist, and social critic, best known for his work in mathematical logic and analytic philosophy, is the twentieth century’s most important thinker. Many consider him to be the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century. He was born into an aristocratic family in 1872 at the zenith of Britain’s economic and political dominance, and died in 1970 when Britain’s power had been obscured in fairy tales subsequent to world wars. John Stuart Mill was his godfather. He was one of the world’s most influential critics of nuclear weapons and the American war in Vietnam.
His parents died when he was three years old. Russell's father had arranged custody of his two sons to two atheists but after his death in 1876 Russell’s grandfather who had served twice as Prime Minister under Queen Victoria had no difficulty in getting Russell's father's will overturned. After the death of his grandfather in 1878, Russell was brought up by his grandmother, Lady Russell.
Russell was at first educated privately at home and later went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a brilliant student of mathematics and philosophy. Russell obtained degrees both in mathematics and in the moral science.
In 1900, Russell became acquainted with the work of the Italian mathematician Peano, which inspired him to write "The Principles of Mathematics (1903)" and later this work expanded into three volumes of Principia Mathematica (1910-13) in collaboration with Alfred North Whitehead. The research, which Russell did during this period, establishes him as one of the founding fathers of modern analytical philosophy. His Principia Mathematica coauthored with A. N. Whitehead, is one of the monumental works in the history of logic.
Russell was elected to the Royal Society in 1908. In 1916, after his pacifist activities had brought him into conflict with the government, he was found guilty and fined for antiwar activities. As a result, he was dismissed from the College but was reelected a Fellow in 1946 after returned to Trinity in 1944. Two years later Russell was convicted a second time but this time he spent six months in prison. It was while in the prison that he wrote "Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy (1919)".
In 1920, Russell traveled in Russia. Also in 1920 and much of 1921 he visited China, analyzing the strength and weaknesses of that ancient civilization attempting to industrialize, and warned of the dangers of imperial powers interfering in China’s affairs. He also taught philosophy at Peking for a year.
Married four times (Alys Pearsall Smith, Dora Black, Patricia Spence, Edith Finch) and many affairs from 1914 on, arguing for the liberation of men and women form sexual repression. Lady Ottoline Momell became his mistress and remained his close friend and confidant until her death in 1938.
During 1903-04, Russell engaged himself in political campaigns, notably those in favor of free trade and during 1906-10, he took in political campaigns in favor of women’s suffrage. He fought for women’s right to vote in political elections. He ran as the candidate for the national union of women’s suffrage societies in the Wimbledon by-election. Russell ran unsuccessfully for Parliament, in 1907, 1922, and 1923.
During the late 1920's and early 1930s, together his second wife Dora Russell, he opened and ran an experimental school at Beacon Hill in an attempt to transform education so as to eliminate possessiveness and warlike mentality or way of thinking. Upon the death of his brother in 1931 Russell became the third Earl Russell.
Russell went to United States in 1938 and taught there for several years at various universities. While teaching in the United States in the late 1930s, Russell was offered a teaching appointment at City College, New York. His appointment was revoked following the fury of bigots of all denominations and a judicial decision, in 1940, which stated that he was morally unfit to teach at the College on the grounds that his works were "lecherous, libidinous, lustful, venerous, erotomaniac, aphrodisiac, irrelevant, narrow-minded, untruthful, and bereft of moral fiber". Nine years later, in 1949, he was awarded the Order of Merit. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. He is the only philosopher to have received both the Order of Merit and the Nobel Prize.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Russell became an inspiration to youth as a result of his continued anti-war and anti-nuclear protests. In 1955, Russell released the Russell-Einstein Manifesto. Together with Albert Einstein, he demanded for the reduction of nuclear weapons. In 1957, he was a major organizer of the first Pugwash Conference, which brought together scientists concerned about the production and proliferation of nuclear weapons. In 1958, he became the founding president of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. In 1961, he was once again locked up for two months in the connection with anti-nuclear protests. Upon the appeal his sentence was reduced to one week in the prison hospital.
Throughout his life Russell has also been an extremely outspoken and aggressive moralist in the rationalist tradition of Locke and Hume. His many essays on moral are written in a terse, vivid and provocative style. Conspicuous qualities of his books are the firm direction of the course of ideas, his ability to continue or check a discussion according to his principal intention, and particularly his easy humor and his devastating irony. His greatest literary achievement has been his History of Western Philosophy (1946). Over the course of his long career, Russell made significant contributions, not just to logic and philosophy, but to a broad range of other subjects including education, politics, history, religion and science. He stayed a well-known figure until his death at the age of 97.
• A British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, social reformer, socialist and pacifist. • Russell led the British "revolt against idealism" in the early 1900s and is considered one of the founders of analytic philosophy. He was a prominent anti-war activist, championing free trade between nations and anti-imperialism. Knowing a tomato is a fruit is KNOWLEDGE…. Knowing not to put it in a fruit salad is WISDOM
Short Summary: "Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.” – Sandra Carey Knowledge and wisdom are different things. According to Russell, knowledge is defined as the
acquisition of data and information, while wisdom is defined as the practical application and use of the knowledge to create value. Wisdom is gained through learning and practical experience, not just memorization. A sense of proportion is very much necessary for wisdom. By inventing medicine, a scientist may reduce the infant death-rate. Apparently, it leads to population explosion and shortage of food. The standard of life comes down. If misused, knowledge of atom can lead human to destruction by manufacturing nuclear weapon. Knowledge without wisdom can be harmful. Even complete knowledge is not enough. For example, Hegel wrote with great
knowledge about history, but made the Germans believe that they were a master race. It led to war. It is necessary, therefore to combine knowledge with feelings. We need wisdom both in public and private life. We need wisdom to decide the goal of our life. We need it to free ourselves from personal prejudices. Wisdom is needed to avoid dislike for one another. Two persons may remain enemies because of their prejudice. If they can be told that we all have flaws then they may become friends. So, ‘Hate Hatred’ should be our slogan. Wisdom lies in freeing ourselves from the control of our sense organs. Our ego develops through our senses. We cannot be free from the sense of sight, sound and touch. We know the world primarily through our senses. As we grow we discover that there are other things also. We start recognizing them. Thus we give up thinking of ourselves alone. We start thinking of other people and grow wiser. We give up on our ego. Wisdom comes when we start loving others. Russell feels that wisdom can be taught as a goal of education. Even though we are born unwise which we cannot help, we can cultivate wisdom. Queen Elizabeth I, Henry IV and Abraham Lincoln, are some impressive personalities who fused vigour with wisdom and fought the evil.
Another Summary: *Knowledge and wisdom are different things. According to Russell, knowledge is defined as the acquisition of data and information, while wisdom is defined as the practical application and use of the knowledge to create value. Wisdom is gained through learning and practical experience, not just memorization. Knowledge and Wisdom defines the various ways of achieving Wisdom. He laments that though vast knowledge has been acquired; there has been no corresponding increase in wisdom. Russell defines wisdom by telling us about things which contribute to wisdom. * The first is a sense of proportion. It is the capacity to consider all important factors in a problem carefully. Specialization makes it difficult. For example scientists discover new medicines but they do not know what impact these medicines will have on the life of the people. The medicines may reduce the infant death rate. But it may lead to increased population. In poor countries it may lead to shortage of food. If there are more people, it may lower the standard of life. The knowledge of the composition of the atom could be misused by a lunatic to destroy the world. If misused, knowledge of atom can lead human to destruction by manufacturing nuclear weapon. *Knowledge without wisdom can be harmful. It should be combined with the total needs of mankind. Even complete knowledge is not enough. It should be related with certain
knowledge of the purpose of life. The study of history can illustrate it. For example Hegel wrote with great knowledge about history, but made the Germans believe that they were a master race. It led to war. It is necessary therefore to combine knowledge with feelings. Men who have knowledge and have no feelings lack wisdom. We need wisdom both in public and private life. We need wisdom to decide the goal of our life. We need it to free ourselves from personal prejudices. We may follow even a novel thing unwisely if it is too big to achieve. Man may attempt to achieve the impossible, he may do harm to himself in the process. * In personal life, says Russell, wisdom is needed to avoid dislike for one another. Two persons may remain enemies because of their prejudice. One may dislike the other for imaginary faults. If they can be told that we all have flaws (faults) then they may become friends. We can avoid hatred if we are wise. Wisdom lies in freeing ourselves from the control of our sense organs. Our ego develops through our senses. We cannot be free from the sense of sight, sound and touch. We know the world primarily through our senses. As we grow we discover that there are other things also. We start recognizing them. Thus we give up thinking of ourselves alone. We start thinking of other people and grow wiser. We give up on our ego. It is difficult to completely get rid of selfishness, but we can think of things beyond our immediate surroundings. Wisdom comes when we start loving others. *Russell feels that wisdom can be taught as a goal of education. The message in the parable of the Good Samaritan is that we should love our neighbour whether friend or foe. Many a time we miss the message in this parable (story/fable)because we fail to love those who cause harm to the society. In brief Russell tells us not to hate anybody. The author draws out examples from the history of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry IV and Abraham Lincoln, who were free from the errors committed by other eminent people in the past. *The danger of hatred and narrow-mindedness can be pointed out in the course of giving knowledge. Russell feels knowledge and wisdom can be combined in the scheme of education. People should be educated to see things in relation to other things of the world. They should be encouraged to think of themselves as world citizens.
What is the difference between a clever man and a wise man? And how can one become wise? A wise person possesses both insight and foresight while a clever person may not necessarily do so. A clever person can seize the here and now, but a wise person can go beyond that. A clever man responds to the exterior changes quickly, but a wise man can penetrate the changes and make the right decision. It takes a broad vision and an unbiased mind to make one wise, and one can gain a lot of wisdom through constant thinking and experiencing. This text is an argumentation. Russell holds that several factors contribute to wisdom. A wise man has comprehensive vision, who is capable of taking into account all the important aspects of problem and gives due weight to each of them. In addition, a wise man is aware of the end of his life. It is considered unwise to pursue an end if it is impossible of achievement. Russell also points out that one factor of wisdom is emancipation, as far as possible, from your personal
prejudice. As your thoughts and feelings become less personal, you may gain wisdom. Q.1. What message does the writer try to convey with the example of technicians? (para 2) The writer tries to tell us knowledge itself cannot save the world. Knowledge without wisdom will not benefit the world and in some cases will even pose a serious threat to humanity. So a wise person has to have a comprehensive view. Q.2. How can wisdom help one in his/her pursuit of a life-long career? (para 4) Wisdom can help one in his choice of a lifelong pursuit. When one has to make a major career decision, he has to consider whether it is possible to achieve what he aims at. If it is too high to be achieved, he should learn to give it up and turn to an attainable goal. Q.3. What, according to Russell, is the essence of wisdom? And how can one acquire the very essence? According to Russell, the essence of wisdom lies in impartiality, the ability to defy the physical world. Russell believes the process of growing wise is that of tearing oneself away from the physical and emotional worlds and moving into a higher stage, the spiritual world. The first paragraph serves as an introduction. The author introduces the topic about the correlation between knowledge and wisdom. Paragraph 1 Most people believe that knowledge is not equal to wisdom as history has suggested that the acquisition of knowledge does not necessarily lead to the increase of wisdom. He states the purposes of the writing, making it clear that he would like to discuss what contributes to wisdom and how to teach wisdom. Paragraph 2 This part is the main body of the essay. The four paragraphs tell us what wisdom is. What factors contribute to wisdom according to Russell?
Russell holds that these factors contribute to wisdom: a sense of proportion, an awareness of the ends of human life and emancipation from personal prejudice. What does "sense of proportion" mean? The writer explains what "sense of proportion" means ― the ability to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight, or the comprehensive view of the situation of a problem. In other words, it refers to the ability to get a comprehensive view of a problem, and in the meantime, note which aspect is more important and which is less. Is it easy to get a right sense of proportion? No. It has become more difficult than it used to be owing to the extent and complexity of the specialized knowledge required of various kinds of technicians. What has become of the specialized knowledge? Why has it become more difficult for technicians to obtain a sense of proportion? How many examples does Russell provide to support his idea about the importance of “a sense of proportion? Two. One is about a research in scientific medicine. The other is a study on the composition of the atom. As human knowledge becomes more and more extensive and specialized, one who is engrossed in the study of his specific field may fail to foresee the outcome of the knowledge he is pursuing. (L 7, para 2) In Para. 2 Russell stresses the importance of comprehensiveness. Why is comprehensiveness an important factor that constitutes wisdom? As human knowledge becomes more and more extensive and specialized, one who is engrossed in the study of his specific field may fail to foresee the outcome of the knowledge he is pursuing. That’s why Russell stresses the importance of comprehensiveness. What does "the ends of human life" refer to? It refers to the goals of human life. Many eminent historians have done more harm than good ... (L2, Para.3) What many eminent historians have done is more damaging than help… Why is wisdom needed when we choose the end we want to pursue?
We should be wise enough to realize that some ends are not attainable inherently even though they may be noble. So to consider the feasibility of the noble ideas is important. I think the essence of wisdom is to free oneself from the confinement of the physical world and the emotional world and look beyond. What does “tyranny of the here and now” mean? The writer suggests that people cannot avoid being partial. The difference between a wise man and an unwise man is the former has a lesser degree of partiality. As one becomes more impartial, his wisdom grows It is possible to become increasingly impartial by gaining knowledge about the history and the future, and about other parts of the world, and by showing due respect and interest to different things.