Is it true that the wise know they are nothing but fools?

Question

Do you consider yourself wise or do you consider yourself a fool? and why?

Answer 1

I have 161 life years on this 61 years of age spiritual human being of my God. I know very much now. I know so much that I know there is much, much more that I do not know than I do know. I know God did not make anything that was not good. I also know that if I keep my mouth shut people will "think" that I am a fool. If I open my mouth, people will "know" that I am a fool. I also know that what others think of me is really none of my business. I also know that I will hang with those that are seeking the truth and avoid like the plague, those that have found the truth. I know that this life that you sense is but an illusion; you are not even solid… hold a flashlight to the palm of your hand; does not the light shine right through? Life is surely an illusion… just a persistent one with a fulfillment on the way. Perhaps it is not a black and white, not polarized… but a mixture of innocent ignorance and experiential knowledge… faith… not an intellectual thing… it is a feeling. I also know there is no name for God, not even the name God. I know all that there is to know is in your heart. What are you going to do to unravel all the intricate, intertwining crap wrapped around your heart to access all that knowledge? Oh yeah... the structure of language is the worst thing that happened to us spiritual human beings.. it stunted, bounded our imagination so much that we cannot imagine God anymore...

Answer 2

No I do not believe being wise is foolish. It is just common sense.
Fools rush in where wisemen fear to tread. That is the old adage, and that describes what you are asking. To be a fool is blasphemy in most religions and to call someone a fool it is also blasphemy. But we do foolish things and that is part of being human. Like fools gold, anyone can make a mistake. We are not perfect, and yet it is said the wiser you become the sadder you get. So maybe it is better not to become too wise and stay young at heart.

Answer 3

It is common to confuse three things as if they were one thing: Ignorance, stupidity, and foolishness. They are very different things.

Ignorance is not knowing something.

Stupidity is not having the ability to eliminate ignorance.

Foolishness is not having the motivation to eliminate ignorance.

All intelligent persons know some things and are ignorant of others. If an intelligent person needs to eliminate their ignorance they will work on that and, if possible, turn that ignorance into knowledge. That new knowledge is not only of the thing but also how one goes about learning.

A stupid person is condemned to their ignorance as they don't have the ability of learning on their own, and learn only by rote when led by others. That limited ability might not be innate. Stupidity might be imposed from outside, by a dogmatic belief, a despotic ruler, a closed society, endless tribal warfare, or the accumulated nonsense of traditions that no longer make any sense.

The foolish are unmotivated or don't see any reason why they should eliminate any of their ignorances. They are the students who ask why should they learn something as they need to have a reason to learn anything. One thing that separates an intelligent person from a foolish person is that the intelligent person knows that the reason for learning is not always easy to see until after the learning is over.

A wise person can begin as intelligent, stupid, or foolish, but must not stop there, as he is a person who then uses the knowledge he has as best he can, openly admits his ignorance and attempts to eliminate it, if and when it is possible, who seeks to learn what is useful to the mind, to explore what is unknown, open to unpopular, unconventional, and even unpromising ideas, beliefs, and thoughts, and is compassionate for all humanity, and respectful and aid to those who have failed.

Answer 4

I consider myself a fool, because there will always be a universe full of things I'll never know. I may some day have as much knowledge as one can accumulate in a limited lifetime (and I doubt that will ever be true), but it will only be a drop in the bucket of what there is to know.

Kind of depressing and wonderful at the same time.

Answer 5

As one grow older, one does acquire some wisdom. BUT! The more a person learns and understands,the more s/he is aware of what is not known. and then there is always the stuff that a person doesn/t know s/he doesn't know.

A wise person should not consider him/herself a fool, but should be aware of still being ignorant.

Answer 6

I believe that to be true. The true fools are the ones who will not admit to being such, and who think they know everything. The truly wise are those who admit that they do not know everything and will never know everything, yet they still seek knowledge. As egotistical as it sounds, I consider myself to be wise, because I meet my standards above.

Answer 7

more foolish than wise, at this point, alas! the wise realize how limited they are in their knowledge and wisdom! ordinary human perception limits us to probably 1% knowledge/wisdom of what is truly reality--in its immense sweep, depth and complexity. those who have been involved with the time honored practices associated with consciousness expansion, etc. are more in tune, but only the completely enlightened know what's really going on, and they are very few and far between. ;-_

Answer 8

The wise aren't "nothing but fools". It's not this or that, nothing but. Sometimes wise, sometimes foolish, that's people.

Answer 9

Never argue with a fool- somebody listening won't be able to tell the difference.

Answer 10

i wouldnt say fools, but a wise man realizes that he must always be a student and teacher. always learning, even from those he's teaching. no man can kno EVERYTHING, but we can all have knowledge of self (which in actuality is knowledge of everything around us since you and I are products of our environment)

live righteous and never stop your pursuit of knowledge