Wisdom of Quotations - by Edgar Allan Poe  

Posted by Plato Greybeard


While we had a small group for this session, the discussion was lively. Participants readily agreed that man is certainly more active today than 6000 years ago, much of our discussion centered on what does it mean to be wise, and what does it mean to be happy?

It was pointed out that information leads to knowledge and that knowledge leads to wisdom. But does it? Some questioned the concept that simply being well-educated makes one wise. However, those taking this position were unable to state what, in addition to knowledge, is required for one to be wise. Wisdom may be a quality that is observed in an individual by others, but is never a characteristic that one applies to him/herself. Socrates stated that he knew nothing, but most consider him to be one of the wisest of men.

Happiness was an even harder concept to grasp. What makes one happy can make another miserable. It is not a given that money brings happiness, although most would agree with the concept that "I've been rich, and I've been poor. Rich is better." Ultimately, happiness may depend on how one views the world around them, leaving the degree of happiness or unhappiness one experiences entirely up to the individual.

This entry was posted on September 2, 2010 at Thursday, September 02, 2010 . You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments feed .

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