Knowledge Without Wisdom

by Steven Schwartz

Woody Allen has confessed that he was expelled from New York University for cheating in his metaphysics examination; he was caught peeking into the soul of the boy sitting next to him. T his couldn’t happen today because…universities don’t teach metaphysics. As for souls — universities sold theirs a long time ago. Instead of the meaning of life, today’s universities focus on the vocational skills that students need for their first job out of university — the courses that make money. Subjects concerned with the ancient search for wisdom — philosophy, classics, literature — are slowly fading away. We must face the sad fact: wisdom has developed an image problem. As far as young people are concerned, wisdom is the province of ghost whisperers; extra-terrestrials like Mr. Spock the Vulcan on Star Trek and wizened kung-fu sages (“The body is the arrow, the spirit is the bow, Grasshopper”). Wise people are not only seen as old, alien and weird, but also as bookish, risk-averse and unemotional. No wonder their pearls of wisdom are routinely ignored by the impetuous young.

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2005