Theme and Style

Wisdom

Theme

Wisdom

The theme of this website is the wisdom to live: to know, to do and to be.

So that it doesn’t sound like nonsensical fluff, let’s break down what wisdom means and how this website proposes to get us closer to it.

What is wisdom?

The first component of wisdom is knowledge. This includes both facts of knowledge and knowing the method to apply those facts to one’s life. But storing up knowledge is not enough. Otherwise humanity would have stopped making bad decisions shortly after the advent of the internet. 

The second component of wisdom is customization to our life and context. Knowing that stress damages health and knowing techniques to prevent said stress is hardly useful if we haven’t figured out what specifically triggers stress in us. Worse, such a trigger is not static throughout our life. 

The third component of wisdom is experiencing the enrichment that knowledge and its customization brings to our life. In theory, achieving a goal should bring happiness. But none of us can be strangers to the emptiness that accompanies some of our achievements. What use is all the knowing and doing if it does not help us be happy and fulfilled?

How will this website get us closer to wisdom?

The articles on the website ask and propose to answer questions such as:

  • How can we have clarity to understand what is possible and proper?
  • How do we make positive, meaningful changes in our life permanent?
  • How do we live without strain yet with constant meaning? 
  • How can we live fulfilling lives? And do so in our normal day to day life and not just in highlighted events?

To ensure that every article stays on topic, the beginning of the article will spell out what wisdom we seek from that particular article. 

The articles will also contain links to other articles. Wisdom, like knowledge, is a web, not a checklist. Hope you are not too surprised either if (or should we say when?) the authors update articles to clarify or correct a point.

Style

Source style

The written ideas of others are a great place to source wisdom. The authors refer to disparate sources including, but not limited to:

    • religion, both Eastern (e.g. Buddhism, Hinduism) and Western (e.g. Christianity),
    • formal philosophical schools of thoughts, both ancient (e.g. Aristotelean, Confucianism) and modern (e.g. Objectivism, pragmatism),
    • popular philosophy (as found in the culture of art, books, and movies),
    • general human knowledge,
    • specialty fields including the sciences and psychology (e.g. logotherapy, Alexander Technique),
    • self-improvement methodologies (e.g. Konmarie, Getting Things Done).

The authors also include those bits of inspiration that strike everyone throughout the day; the wisdom that is prevalent in all interactions, introspection, and communications. No source is too “unqualified” or “raw” to have wisdom. The authors routinely credit children as the fount of new clarity.

The authors expect you, who read this blog, to be in the same mindset as them. We are in pursuit of the positive that can be gained, and do not focus on the errors or disagreements we may find. There is tremendous good in so many places and it is not worth focusing on what is wrong with those places. We can contrast ideas to understand the correct without having to bash the incorrect. We should extract the good with gratitude and move on.

Presentation style

  • These articles assume that you are a normal, decent person, trying to do the best in life; and not a psychopath, a misanthrope, an evil dictator, or anything along those lines. When words like we, humans, people, etc. are used in these articles, they refer only to the collective normal, decent human beings. While evil and its psychology are occasionally discussed in articles, those are not the focus of this website. The causes and consequences of such deviation from the norm are the focus of specialized fields and not of significant interest to the authors.
  • The articles are not complete treatises. They are not written for publishing in scholarly journals. The authors will do their best to give references and examples. But sometimes references may not be included, and examples may be anecdotal. The authors have not conducted studies, have not had these articles peer reviewed, and have not noted citations to objective evidence supporting their arguments.
  • The articles will lay out a rational argument with reference to evidence. The authors are hearkening back to the Renaissance era, which boasted of laymen being philosophers. Individuals used to present their insights and experience from their own perspectives, and everyone benefited. There is no reason why it shouldn’t work today.
  • If you find an error in the articles, disagree with anything in them, or have any constructive inputs, the authors would appreciate feedback. They hope you find value in the articles and that these articles help you live better. If not, they hope you find the answers you are looking for.