CAMPUS » Paul Mueller

Wisdom vs. Knowledge

Paul Mueller — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 15:54:50 +0000

I am intrigued by the distinction you made between knowledge and wisdom. You said “We are seeking wisdom here, not just knowledge.” I wonder what the relationship between the two is and what part the university has to play in it. Surely knowledge is not the same as wisdom, and in fact it is not necessary for wisdom. There are many people who have not had a college education who are very wise, and vice versa. So the question we need to address is: Do we go to a university to become wise?

This is a tricky question. We should always be seeking wisdom wherever we are and whatever we are doing. But I do not think the primary purpose of going to college or university is to become wise. We go to learn and increase our understanding of the world, ourselves, and God. The goal of professors should be to make thoughtful students and encourage them to pursue the good. But there are other institutions, like churches, that can encourage and train men to be wise. I do not think that is the primary goal of a university, although it should be encouraged. I wonder if it isn’t worth noting that the purpose of a Jesuit University is different from that of a university by itself. The promotion of wisdom and repairing of corrupt morals is not an intrinsic part of a university, but is added from the Jesuit mission.

I did not mean to suggest that professors should play the devil’s advocate all the time and try to remain neutral in what they present. I think it is important that they have firm convictions and let the students know where they stand. I just want to emphasize, as perhaps Leo Strauss would, the importance of reading texts esoterically-assuming the author has something important and insightful to say.

Re: Ideas have Consequences

Paul Mueller — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 01:24:32 +0000

Are you sure the purpose of a university is to advance knowledge, not preserve it? Perhaps scientific research is an exception, but the purpose of a university is to expose students to the great minds and thoughts of the Western Tradition. Educating is different from researching. Now, I think there is room for professors to do research if, as you say, their primary focus is to educate students. But I think there are other and better ways of advancing scientific research than through a university.

There is more than enough wisdom and knowledge to learn, consider, question, and wrestle with in the past three thousand years. Universal knowledge requires a strong core in the history of ideas before intense and narrow specialization like we have in most colleges today.

One perspective on Newman

Paul Mueller — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:36:21 +0000

While the purpose of a university is obviously to increase knowledge, I think it is important to understand its limitations. I think one of Henry Newman’s most important claims is:

“Quarry the granite rock with razors,
or moor the vessel with a thread of silk;
then may you hope with such keen and
delicate instruments as human knowledge
and human reason to contend against
those giants, the passion and the pride
of man.”

Knowledge, by itself, does not make men good. It makes them knowledgeable. There are many intelligent professors and students who are aware of the great books and minds of the Western Tradition but still reject it. All philosophies require certain basic assumptions. If students or professors disagree with the assumptions, they are going to disagree with the ideas. A great book on this topic is Thomas Sowell’s Conflict of Visions.

A university is an institution teaching “universal knowledge.” This not only includes all fields of study, physics, biology, psychology, economics, history, philosophy, and so on; it also includes presenting the whole range of ideas on a topic. It means looking at Rousseau and Hegel as well as John Locke and Adam Smith. It means exposing students to the thought of Nietzsche as well as that of Richard Weaver or Russell Kirk. I think the true purpose of professors is not to teach that one set of thinkers is categorically right, but to present the strengths and weaknesses of all positions.