philosophy... it's smokin'!

I'm reading this collection of 10 major works of philosophy for fun. This is really out of character, but so far I've been enjoying it. Maybe my distaste for thinking has ended, well atleast in some areas. So I'll probably randomly throw out some questions on here for kicks and giggle... or because I'm confused about something. Confusion is why I'm starting this though, not enlightenment.
Well it starts out with "Apology" which is basically Socrates trial before he is put to death for being a evil doer, misguiding the youth, and you know... the typical thing that is worthy of capitol punishment. In his defense though there was one thing that threw me off, except that one thing was good portion of his arguement so I was confused and had that "what the ****" face on through a good portion of it. He claimed to be wise because he knew that he had no wisdom. Those that had some wisdom, but claimed to have more than they actually had less wisdom. Now what the hell does that even mean? I mean I understand the others people being guilty of having the pretence of having wisdom which they didn't , but what was this wisdom that they claimed to have? What is wisdom in the context of what he's talking about? Is there a difference between wisdom and knowledge? I really need to look more into this and see how Socrates interrogated people. Someone help my brain. :confused:

I believe for Socrates, "wisdom" is capacity for rational, logical deduction. Those who think they're wiser than they actually are clearly must not be able to apply to themselves what rationality they have.

Originally Posted by: iiholly... Is there a difference between wisdom and knowledge? ... :confused:

Knowledge may be considered as nothing more than accumulating information.

Wisdom is seen in how someone applies that information to their own life and to others.

Hmmm, The difference between Knowledge and Wisdom;

Knowledge= Understanding that the 10+ shots of Tequila you are about to drink at the Bar is gonna get you wasted and afterward you decide to drive home anyway.

Wisdom= Taking a Cab.

Knowledge= Knowing that the Cop that just pulled you over is going to arrest you, take you downtown and book you for DUI and then slap around $5,000.00 in fines on you.

Wisdom= Paying the cab driver $25.00 as you stumble toward your nice cozy bed.

meh it differs in accordance to culture and whatnot..really..this sort of thing gets u in loops...in my theory anyway..theres no absolute meaning to any kind of word if u were to take that into consideration...

I'm doing Ethics and Society as my first philosophy subject at uni... it's not all that confusing when you're just reading the theory, but when you actually apply that theory to an argument, it suddenly turns into astrophysics! :( :o

Originally Posted by: LordathestringsKnowledge may be considered as nothing more than accumulating information.

Wisdom is seen in how someone applies that information to their own life and to others.

Agreed. Knowledge is fact gathering and retention. Wisdom is the practical application of knowledge, insight and the ability to discern inner qualities. Intellect is the capacity for knowledge.

I believe the direct quote that is so often attributed to him is:

"Man only finds true intelligence in the realization of his ignorance"

or something along those lines.

Basically meaning that you can have all the wisdom and intelligence in the world, but unless you realize that you can't be right all the time you are are ignorant... therefor, not truelly intelligent. Where as a person who realizes they are not always right knows TRUE intelligence.

Furthermore, intelligence doesn't necessarily come with the amount of wisdom, but rather in the way that you apply it.