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Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 11:20:19 AM

darkinshadows

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After a particularly thoughtful week I have a question I would like to ask everyone as I am interested in each persons response. The person who discussed such with me, so I have felt compelled to ask this, knows who they ae, and I thank them for them opening my thoughts to this question.

So I will ask all who would wish to reply - What's the difference between intellect and wisdom?

Peace and Love

_____________________________

.dark.

...i surrender to gravity and the unknown...

Post #: 1

RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 11:30:20 AM

Lordandmaster

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You can be born with intellect, but you can't be born with wisdom.

(in reply to darkinshadows)

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RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 12:28:51 PM

UtopianRanger

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Darkangel ......

Here's my take on it :

Wisdom is a type of knowledge that's garnered through life's trangressions, while intellect is more inate and comes from within one's self

- The Ranger

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"If you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do... the body is never tired if the mind is not tired."

-General George S. Patton

(in reply to darkinshadows)

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RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 12:30:06 PM

RiotGirl

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Wisdom is gained through experiences and wot not.

Intellect was there to be used to be cultivated to Wisdom. Kinda of like the next step up the ladder

Or intellect which is also part of intellectual, which means like book smarts in my own little world. Thinking power used to gain knowledge from books. Professors are often intellectual, but not always wise.

Kind of like the difference between Street smarts and books smarts.

Common sense vs learned sense

ectectectect

(in reply to Lordandmaster)

Post #: 4

RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 12:55:34 PM

Sirjazzalot1966

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Intellect is the inate ability to be able to learn to learn and reason.

Wisdom is knowledge gained from experience (like the previous posters said) and may be gained sometimes from not using one's intellect.

My two cents

.

(in reply to RiotGirl)

Post #: 5

RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 2:01:04 PM

CalliopePurple

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I agree with the previous posters and I'm gonna add this little saying for amusement:
Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

_____________________________

Kimi ni aitakute dare yori mo aitakute
hajimete kimi ni atta hoshizora no shita de.
Kimi ni tsutaetai todokanai omoi demo
boku no kokoro wa mada kimi o sagashiteiru.

Gackt - Kimi ni Aitakute

(in reply to Sirjazzalot1966)

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RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 2:03:51 PM

FirmFare

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Please people, let's start with a definition. Opinions come after some established standards.

Websters defines (intellect) the faculty of reasoning and thinking ; mental power; mind; understanding

Webster defines (wisdom) a quality of being wise; knowledge and the capacity to make use of it; judgement

I think Webster has a pretty good handle on it. Intellect describes an ability to reason and think through a concept. Whereas wisdom is the describes an ability to make use of knowledge. Intellect doesn't pre-suppose a fact while wisdom inherently makes use of set facts.

That's my take on it anyway.

(in reply to Sirjazzalot1966)

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RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 4:07:16 PM

Lordandmaster

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Uh oh, it's the old dictionaries-establish-the-meanings-of-words argument again. We've done this before, FirmFare, and we've agreed that dictionaries don't determine usage. They report it.

And the OP didn't ask for Webster's definitions. She could have looked those up herself. She asked for "each person's response."

quote:

ORIGINAL: FirmFare

Please people, let's start with a definition. Opinions come after some established standards.

Websters defines (intellect) the faculty of reasoning and thinking ; mental power; mind; understanding

Webster defines (wisdom) a quality of being wise; knowledge and the capacity to make use of it; judgement

< Message edited by Lordandmaster -- 7/23/2005 4:08:27 PM >

(in reply to FirmFare)

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RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 5:44:13 PM

Jennsen

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Lordandmaster

Uh oh, it's the old dictionaries-establish-the-meanings-of-words argument again. We've done this before, FirmFare, and we've agreed that dictionaries don't determine usage. They report it.

And the OP didn't ask for Webster's definitions. She could have looked those up herself. She asked for "each person's response."

quote:

ORIGINAL: FirmFare

Please people, let's start with a definition. Opinions come after some established standards.

Websters defines (intellect) the faculty of reasoning and thinking ; mental power; mind; understanding

Webster defines (wisdom) a quality of being wise; knowledge and the capacity to make use of it; judgement

Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength,
blessed is the man who, having nothing to say,
abstains from giving in words evidence of the fact....

_____________________________

"....and they who danced were thought insane by those who refused to hear the music"

(in reply to Lordandmaster)

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RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 6:02:57 PM

RiotGirl

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thank you Lam, i am able to now refrain myself from spurting out some thing unpleasant. Personally Firm's response did not go well with the cheese sandwhich i just ate. I thought your response Firm was highly ummmm.. and mmmm. and it was mmmhm

<curtsies graciously to LAM> thank you Lam for helping me refrain

(in reply to Lordandmaster)

Post #: 10

RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 6:06:51 PM

darkinshadows

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From: UK
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Whilst I appriciate your input, FirmFare - I do already know the different and set dictionary definitions but I desired the thoughts and responses of individuals. In such, you have given me your thoughts, which are definition based (I think You for that) - but other people may look beyond anothers words, and give me theres. So, I thank LaM for observing my question to be of a personal nature.

I thank everyone for responding sofar.

Peace and Love

_____________________________

.dark.

...i surrender to gravity and the unknown...

(in reply to darkinshadows)

Post #: 11

RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 6:28:16 PM

sanita

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it is easy to say that wisdom is what comes with experience and is learned. i sort of agree with that, however, i would like to go further with the webster's, because that is more along the lines of how i see it.

of course, this is only how i see it, not how anyone else SHOULD see it.

intellect is the capacity to learn. it is the capability of our brain to take in information, be it only about a certain subject, or overall smarts. it is the capacity for knowlege.

wisdom is the ability to use that information to apply it to new experiences. the wisest person in the world may never have read a book. but, when confronted with a new circumstance, they apply what they do know and have experienced to the situation and may actually come out of it better off than a lot of the book smart people trying to pigeonhole it into an intellectual framework.

i have met small children that are wise... very wise. they will see other children fall in a playground, and adapt. they can remove the offending obstacle, or show the other children how to avoid it. sometimes, they simply avoid it themselves, or go to a resource that can make it right. other children will not notice the cause of the falling, until they fall themselves. this is just an example...

wisdom is the ability to process infomation, and to adapt.

1st edition D&D made a distinction between intelligence and wisdom. the players with higher wisdom numbers would notice things better than others. make sense?

_____________________________

Sometimes, He calls me "subbie." Sometimes, i call me "subbie." And if someone wants to call me a BBW, its flattering. Just don't call me false.

"Please do not show me your ass and expect me to read your mind." -Opencollar

(in reply to darkinshadows)

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RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 6:31:56 PM

LdyAuburn

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Intellect is what I know through reading or such things, wisdom is from doing. Perhaps I see one is an active activity... the other a passive

ps this is my sunday for thoughts :) for example I can 'know' that putting my hand to the fire will hurt, but wisdom (after trying I really know)

(in reply to sanita)

Post #: 13

RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 8:29:37 PM

Gauge

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Intellect is similar to a sword, it can be honed and tempered. Intellect is the capacity for understanding and knowledge.

Wisdom comes from when our intellect fails us. Wisdom is the result of failure and mistakes we have committed. Wisdom can be taught as well, intellect cannot.

_____________________________

"For there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men." Herman Melville - Moby Dick

I'm wearing my chicken suit and humming La Marseillaise.

(in reply to darkinshadows)

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RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 8:31:56 PM

pinkpleasures

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i do not necessarialy agree that a child can be wise. i think wisdom is an accumulation of experience, tempered with a kind heart and an open mind. Much of wisdom is attained simply by being capable of listening...something not everyone can do.

Intellect is a characteristic of a person, just as a hair color is...each one of us has it to greater or lesser degrees and in differing varieties. One of my girlfriends is a talented musician. Another is a brilliant accountant. My own kid is talented in many ways, including car repairs. i am unable to understand the rudimentary concepts involved in any of these endeavors, but i do have some other intellectual power.

i also believe intellect waxes and wanes over a person's life. i remember the controversy as my kid was growing up over whether to attempt to teach a second language in grammar school. Proponents of the idea had marshalled quite a bit of data showing younger children were better able to learn and retain languages than older, middle school children. i think such "windows" go on all our lives. i also believe there comes an age where life's responsibilities begin to ease off, and you enter a "use it or lose it" phase of intellectual development. The brain is a poorly-understood and fascinating organ; and for so many of us, our sense of being an intellectually-gifted person is tied to our egos.

i will also add this footnote: throughout my "interesting" childhood and so forth, i rested not on my looks, which brought me as much pain as happiness, but on my sense of being the Smartest Person In The Room. Chances are, i was most of the time, given my circumstances. Then i began law school and had THAT particular peg knocked out from beneath me. My point is, whatever may be your sense of yourself -- i'm smart; i'm average; i'm dumb; it is all relative. It all depends on the people surrounding you. In my opinion, i would like to be the dumb one; i want to learn all my life; so i'd prefer to hang out with the Smart Kids, even if i cannot always keep up. Ego can take a back seat.

pinkpleasures

< Message edited by pinkpleasures -- 7/23/2005 8:35:31 PM >

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RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 8:44:59 PM

Gauge

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quote:

i do not necessarialy agree that a child can be wise.

Perhaps by the definition of wisdom a child cannot be wise, however that does not preclude a child observing something without all of the filters that an adult has built up over time. Children's perceptions are innocent and very often thought of as wisdom because of that. I have heard many things from my two kids that have stunned me into the realization that they in fact saw things for what they actually are.

_____________________________

"For there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men." Herman Melville - Moby Dick

I'm wearing my chicken suit and humming La Marseillaise.

(in reply to pinkpleasures)

Post #: 16

RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/23/2005 9:46:04 PM

Lordandmaster

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I know what you mean, but intellect can be taught too. Our commonsense notion is that people are born with a certain degree of intelligence, and that's going to be their level of intelligence for the rest of their lives. It doesn't work that way. For one thing, intelligence increases or decreases as it's nourished and stimulated--or not nourished and stimulated. Also, people's intelligence can be honed through their lives and experiences. And I'm not talking about wisdom, which, I think we all agree, is not acquired EXCEPT through experience.

For example, the way we ordinarily think of Mozart is, I think, completely wrong. We tend to think of Mozart as someone who was born with extraordinary gifts and then just spent the rest of his life writing down the miraculous music that bounced around inside him. I don't think that's how it happened at all. Yes, he was born with extraordinary gifts, but he was able to write the music that he did because he trained himself, through his life and experience with music, to be able to think even more creatively as he aged. It was this whole process that produced the music he composed. I don't mean that he did all this consciously, of course; I mean that the circumstances of his family life, his desire to pursue music and the passion with which he did so--all these things together made him an even more intelligent musician than he would have been otherwise. Someone with Mozart's gifts, but without the same kind of life and values, would not have come close as a composer.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Gauge

Wisdom can be taught as well, intellect cannot.

(in reply to Gauge)

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RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/24/2005 5:01:56 AM

kisshou

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I think intellect is a person's capacity to learn.

I think wisdom is having the ability to express thoughts or beliefs so that someone else learns from them.

(in reply to darkinshadows)

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RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/24/2005 8:03:42 AM

pinkpleasures

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It is patently obvious that Lam is correct. Take two babies..send one home with a two parent, wealthy family who can afford to let one parent remain at home until the child reaches 1st grade; provide the child with activities outside the home, and provide educational toys and other stimuli. Send the other child home with a single mom who already has 2 kids; sends the baby to day care at 6 weeks; day care is sub-standard and no one plays with the baby; she cannot afford to give the baby toys and she has little time for him

Now make the assumption that both babies were born with identical "intellects". It's readilly apparent the first child, of wealthy parents, will enjoy an advantage over the second child, of a poor single mother.

pinkpleasures

< Message edited by pinkpleasures -- 7/24/2005 8:05:08 AM >

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RE: Intellect and Wisdom - 7/24/2005 11:29:37 AM

anthrosub

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I think the argument for a standard is a necessary one, if only to have a starting point. If not, we will all be discussing a point on the spectrum of understanding where each person's take on the definition will overlap to some extent or another (or not at all). I think it's also important to keep in mind that definitions change over time.

I have often encountered people using the term "book knowledge" for meaning someone is smart. Being formally educated can also be mistakenly be taken to mean the same thing. Having a considerable exposure to a lot of facts (and retaining them) does not constitute being smart.

The word "intellect" is a somewhat different animal compared to "wisdom" if taken strictly by their definitions in the dictionary. One is a trait or ability...the other is a quality. They are generally thought of as referring to the same thing in a person. There's certainly a relationship between them but they are not the same thing, so it's sort of like apples and oranges.

The solution (for myself) is to use the word "intelligence" in place of either of them for it encompasses both words. A person who has great intellect is not necessarily formally educated and not dependent on it either. Someone who has wisdom may not have a great intellect but can still demonstrate enormous insight. A formal education (like life experience) exercises intellect and increases wisdom. Of course, a person's personality has a lot to do with how much this takes place.

The movie, "Good Will Hunting" is a good example of a person with enormous intellect but not a lot of wisdom (at least at the outset). The main character's best friend was more or less the opposite (lots of wisdom but little intellect). Lastly, I would like to add what I consider "intelligence" to mean. For me, it's the capacity for great awareness of one's self and one's surroundings...taking everything in quickly and comprehending it quickly and to great depth. Think of intelligence as analogous to peripheral vision (inward as well as outward) with the added capability to process all the information that's being absorbed and making good (wise) use of it.

anthrosub

_____________________________

"It is easier to fool people than it is to convince them they have been fooled." - Mark Twain

"I am not young enough to know everything." - Oscar Wilde

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