Practical wisdom = action + reason + concern for what is good and bad for a human.
Aristotle didn’t like the kind of philosophy that was just philosophising, theorising, thinking, pondering, and contemplating.
Contemplation, of course, is needed in order to refine your ability to reason, but it must be bound up with action.
You aren’t a virtuous person merely because you’ve identified and understood the virtues on a cerebral level.
You must combine understanding with action.
We can talk about what justice means all day long.
But if you don’t apply it, even in the smallest areas of your life, then you haven’t understood what it means to be just.
Knowledge without application is worthless.
This is why I disliked my time in Oxford so much.
Endless hypothesising by detestable people.
These scholars would sit around and debate the nature of courage, yet few could apply courage in their day-to-day lives.
This is also why I stopped reading the large majority of philosophers and decided to stick closely to Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca – these great men were all about practical philosophy, urging you to implement the conclusions they came to so you could become a better person.
Why is wisdom the last of Aristotle’s virtues?
Because it’s the virtue of being able to accurately tie everything together.
It’s the virtue of being able to apply knowledge in particular situations.
You’ve deliberated and thought about courage, but wisdom is the virtue of being able to exercise courage in specific situations.
You know about generosity on a cerebral level, but can you apply it when it comes to the hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute, second-by-second experiences in real time?
You know all of these things, but are you able to take off the training wheels and get stronger by flexing your knowledge through application?
Wisdom is the virtue of being a physician of the human condition.
When you’re ill, you don’t just go to the doctor and say you’re sick and get prescribed a medicine.
The doctor asks you a bunch of questions.
What are your symptoms?
Do you have a history of this and that?
When was the last time you did XYZ?
Do you smoke?
How often do you exercise?
How have you been sleeping lately?
The doctor takes your blood pressure, listens to your heartbeat, gets you to stand on the scales.
The doctor is looking at all the different variables involved before finally prescribing something that is correct for you specifically in this situation.
What the doctor prescribes for you may not be the same medicine prescribed to someone else even if you have the same condition.
Wisdom is the virtue of knowing what to prescribe in specific situations.
It’s about knowing how to take that knowledge and apply it.
When it comes to exercising the virtue of wisdom, you need to keep a few things in mind.
You need to understand what you’re aiming at.
If you’re a writer, you aim to be the best damn writer you can be.
Write truthfully and honestly and as excellently as possible.
As a parent, in specific situations with your children you might see your aim as raising them as justly as possible.
You need to have an aim in all things.
With no aim, you have no purpose.
It’s like that old saying: If you don’t know where you’re going, any route will get you there.
You also need to understand the facts of specific situations you face.
You make the best decisions when you have all the facts laid out before you.
Imagine you’re like a judge.
The judge won’t make a decision until they believe they know everything or as much as possible as there is to know.
In addition to specific knowledge of each situation, you need to constantly think about and study the different vices and virtues.
Think, journal, and speak to friends about the nature of truth.
Think about what it means to be a good friend.
Think about temperance.
Study what justice means.
To acquire wisdom, you need to consistently live the virtues.
Put yourself in situations where you’ll need to exercise them.
Try your best.
Perhaps you fail or fall short from the mark.
But that doesn’t matter because this is an iterative process and the journey lasts a lifetime. As long as you evaluate and examine how you acted and learn from it so you can improve.
Virtue Assignment for Wisdom:
THIS WEEK:
– This week is going to be a microcosm of your virtuous life.
This is the week where you try to exercise all the virtues.
A specific situation may arise in which you need to flex your courage.
Then in the same day, you may be tested several times for truthfulness and generosity.
All the while, you are trying to be temperate and friendly.
When you finish this week, I hope you do another cycle and focus on each virtue individually again so you can really hone them. But this week, you’re going into the deep end. We’re taking the reigns off.
You’re going to try to experience life as a full rounded perfect human being.
You are going to make decisions that align with all twelve virtues.
– Switch your wristband when you violate any of the virtues.
We’re not just monitoring one here.
We’re juggling twelve virtues at the same time.
Make a note of which virtues cause you to switch wrists.
– Celebrate at the end of this week.
You just achieved something spectacular.
It’s not about whether you were completely successful with the virtues. No one would be – especially their first time. But just undertaking such a project sets you apart from 99% of people on planet earth.
You need to recognise this, celebrate this, and give yourself a reward. Do whatever you do when you’re celebrating. Take yourself out for a lovely dinner. Have some wine with friends. Book yourself in at a spa. Whatever makes you happy and excited.
You did good. Real good. Honestly – well done.
READING HOMEWORK:
And that’s the end of the first cycle of the virtue program.
We’re going to do a conclusion and a recap so you can get your bearings before hopefully doing another cycle. But for now, take some time to pause, reflect, and celebrate what you’ve achieved.