CHAPTER V

IN SEARCH OF WISDOM

YU XUANMENG

            One might ask about the need to deal with such a speculative problem as wisdom, but the theme "traditional attitude and mo-dernization," raises many related urgent problems. At the dawn of human civilization peoples experienced astonishment and under-took the ancient work of philosophy to express their love for wis-dom. Now, people are busy picking the fruits of the positive scien-ces from the tree of knowledge, so that wisdom having disinte-grated and been substituted by the positive sciences, philosophy now seems to have a dim prospect.

            However, people recognize that human beings are facing serious conflicts and crises in the process of modernization which result from man’s misguided vision and action. Hence, it seems important to review the fundamental nature of wisdom. Only in reflecting upon such speculative problems can philosophy in turn revive its vitality.

            In fact, developing human wisdom is more urgent in modern society than ever before. In our age of an explosion of information various branches of knowledge are emerging; scientific technique develops at an ever accelerating speed and characterizes contem-porary social life. Man creates new worlds, which suggests in turn that only by mastering scientific technique does one have the right to live in the world. Today, not only do highly developed technical professions require skilled workers, but in the traditional industrial and agricultural production, and even in household work, people increasingly use technical means. The computer enters even into man’s creative work in the fine arts. It may perhaps be expected that soon a person ignorant of scientific technique will be able to do nothing in modern social life and therefore will be expelled there-from.

            To adapt to the development of social life, people generally emphasize education. Knowledge accumulated over thousands of years is concentrated into a basic course to be grasped in little more than a decade. As a result, classical physics, chemistry, bio-logy, and so on, have become common knowledge among middle school students. But education can limit one, as well as make one knowledgeable. Because social development requires cooperation by various experts, long before the individual chooses the way of freely deploying his wisdom, social life already has determined the way and the direction he should take. In the present situation while the total knowledge possessed by human beings is increasing, the knowledge grasped by the individual becomes relatively ever more narrow due to the division of labor. For instance, the New Ency-clopedia Britannica needs to be revised almost every year, and the number of authors exceeds 4,000. The contradiction between the boundless character of the action of knowing and the limitation of an individual’s life, the infinite expansion of human knowledge and the relative reduction of that of the individual, are not limited to our age, though they are more serious in the present day. They con-front us with the question: what influence does this have on human beings and how can these contradictions be resolved.

            These questions must be raised because these contradictions already have influenced the human condition. For the most part, a human’s value depends on the relations one establishes be-tween oneself and the surrounding world, including nature and society. The richer the relation, the greater human’s value. Now-adays, through their actions human beings have developed rich relations to nature and the society reflecting the color and com-plexity of the world. On the other hand, the relation between the in-dividual and the world is limited to a relatively small sphere, as each person lives in the world only by his special profession. This leads some philosophers to conclude that in the social life of developed countries one feels rather homeless or alienated. Some would even say that contemporary man suffers the crisis of having become one dimensional, meaning that the realization of human’s full human value is obstructed. Is it possible to change this situation by human wisdom; if so, what is nature of such wisdom?

THE NATURE OF WISDOM

            Whenever one grasps knowledge, overcomes difficulties and deals with actual affairs, one uses wisdom; wherever one acts, his or her life sparkles with wisdom. But if we ask: What is wisdom? no direct answer can easily be given. A correct judgment includes wis-dom, but it is difficult to judge what wisdom is for it cannot be death as an object of knowledge or an objective thing. However, let us attempt a description.

            Though all our knowledge treats ourselves as an object, wis-dom surely is not an object. It consists in the process of its exercise just as the meaning of the words lies in the context in which they are used. Thus, even a proverb full of wisdom could be dull if used in-discriminately, while an ordinary saying can sparkle with wit when used appropriately. Knowledge is certain and can be expressed exactly; wisdom makes knowledge possible and certain but cannot be ascertained precisely because it is subtle in its use. Therefore, we may say that knowledge is something present, while wisdom conceals itself behind knowledge.

            Wisdom then is a concealed power which makes knowledge. present. But we cannot describe it with the concept of potentiality which is the opposite of actuality. We can say that a physical, chemical or biological property is potential when it lacks the ne-cessary conditions for its realization, but wisdom, although always concealed, is a real being as long as man acts. It is a reality that we can experience ourselves, for everyone of us is a wise being pre-sent at hand. Therefore, we would describe it as an actual pos-sibility.

            Since wisdom permeates the action of human beings, which will continue as long as there are human beings, no limitation can be defined for wisdom. We cannot enumerate the kinds of human action, nor can we prejudge its change or future development. Wis-dom is openness: it opens along with the human’s life and consists in the full disclosure of human vitality. Since wisdom is boundless, we cannot define it simply by some of its aspects, for each would subtract from the integrity of the meaning of wisdom.

            From the above discussion, we can express the nature of wisdom only negatively, for if some of its particular aspects were positively determined by us the rest of its meaning would be lost. For instance, people usually take reason as man’s highest wisdom, but then reduce reason to the capacity for logical thinking. As wisdom is the essential feature of man, they then define human beings as rational animals. This is not wrong, but it is not a perfect definition of man, for it denies the existence of the irrational function which also is an element of human wisdom. The imperfection of that definition lies in its one-sided understanding of wisdom.

            Since wisdom consists in its fullness, we must avoid sinking into a onesided point of view when in search of it. Wisdom should be disclosed fully; this will avoid the one-dimensional man. People are inclined not to think of the fullness of wisdom. Usually they think a person to be wise or not according to whether he or she is com-petent for some particular skilled works, or how much knowledge he can grasp. But wisdom does function in grasping knowledge or in skills in operation; wisdom as full dimensional rather than a particular knowledge or skill. However, if the individual can only live by his special profession, how can one pursue wisdom apart from particular knowledge or skills. This then is the point. If we cannot search wisdom apart from our professions, we need nevertheless to transcend from that particular knowledge or skill to the higher level at which wisdom resides. But is it possible to carry out such transcendence? Let us look for an answer among the words of ancient Chinese philosophers.

TRANSCENDENCE FROM PARTICULAR KNOWLEDGE

            TO WISDOM IN CHINESE PHILOSOPHY

            Zhang Zi, one of the remarkable representatives of Taoism in ancient China, wrote at the beginning of his essay "The Principle of Keeping Good Health": "My life is limited, but knowledge is boundless. One must be at one’s wits end to follow boundless knowledge in one’s limited life." His main idea is that since our limited life cannot catch up with boundless knowledge, we should only grasp the key thing for the sake of keeping ourselves in health: that key thing is Tao. He suggests this idea in the following fable.

            Once there was a cook who was very good at dissecting cows. As he had a profound understanding of the complex structure and the veins of a cow, he dissected as gracefully as if dancing. His knife, used for nineteen years, was still new and as sharp as if it had just been sharpened. In response to applause from visitors, the cook gave an unusual answer saying that the reason for his suc-cessful performance was that he had grasped Tao. "What I love most is Tao, rather than technique." Here Tao means "following Providence, . . . following the inherent nature of everything." He added: "Tao is not something seen by our eyes, but must be followed by the mind."

            Having heard the cook’s words, King Weiwen who was among the visitors said that he suddenly understood the way of keeping good health. One may doubt how this could be, for is there any relation between dissecting a cow and keeping good health? Though it may seem rather mystic, the reason in fact is very simple. According to Taoism, there is only one Tao which acts as a general law and penetrates every thing and every process. Here, Tao is understood also as natural law; it dominates the organism of a human being, as well as that of a cow. To keep good health, one should follow Tao, that is, one should behave oneself according to the law of nature. Since nature is aimless, any strong desire of man is considered to be against Tao. So Zhang Zi said: "To be good is not to seek reputation; to be evil is not to violate the law. Always keep your mind at the center of your body." This means, both striving for reputation and violating the law come from man’s strong desire; it even indicates that nature is neither good, nor evil. To be too careful about good or evil is against nature. So the last sentence in the quotation means, try to rid your mind of any desire.

            The story tells us that, according to Zhang Zi, since knowing is boundless and the individual cannot expect to grasp all know-ledge, one had better grasp the highest principle, Tao, for one’s essential interests, namely, to keep oneself in good health and be long-lived. Though Tao is not something present at hand and can-not be seen by one’s eyes, yet one can experience Tao in every-thing one does for Tao is in everything. Of course, this suggests also that a wise person is one who has grasped Tao.

            As Tao is the highest principle, it can be understood also to be the destiny of Heaven. Since it is something like general law, to grasp it one must not stick to any concrete knowledge, that is to say, one should go beyond the concrete things, and try to transcend from technique to Tao, as did the cook. The key step for grasping Tao is transcendence, rather than knowing more. So Lao Zi said: "The more you learned, the less Tao you got." "The wise person does not know much; the one who knows much is not the wise." Tao has the property of perfection and totality; but as knowledge is only part, to stick to knowledge cannot but overlook Tao. Taoism held even that technique will harm man’s perfect mind, and so should be rejected. To keep one’s mind perfect is to hold and cultivate one’s mind in a natural state and full of vitality, like a baby or a virgin who possess a primitive and fresh vitality. Of course, this is simply a state of primitive perfection at the cost of not opening one’s own wits. Lao Zi said: "Give up being a sage, and refuse to be a know-ledgeable man." In short, in these extreme terms, Taoism wants Tao, not knowledge.

            Taoism arose in the period of change from slave to feudal society. Generally speaking, social relations are richer and more complex in a feudal rather than in a slave society. As an ideology founded on a slave society, Taoism stressed the primitive state of balance and refused to adjust to the new social life resulting from feudal society. Taoism did not think that the rise of the new social relation also showed the operation of the great Tao, but took it as a reaction against Tao. Therefore, insisting upon the original under-standing of Tao, Taoists could only withdraw from actual society and live a secluded life. Even now, there are still a few Taoists in China who live a special religious life in the temples. A great part of the collected Taoist scriptures handed down from ancient times is about how to keep good health. Many schools of Qi-gong in China come from Taoism.

            Confucianism also admits Tao but, in contrast to Taoism, it did not restrict Tao to the realm of nature. Confucians acknow-ledged all social relations founded on the basis of the feudal sys-tem, and insisted that, as the highest and unique principle Tao should dominate both nature and social life. That is to say, in Con-fucianism, Tao operates on man not only as a natural organism, but also as a social, and especially an ethical being. In Confucianism the implications of Tao obviously are broader than in Taoism. The ethical element later became increasingly important in the Con-fucian understanding of Tao, so that to follow Tao meant to behave oneself according to the position one occupied in the ethical order of the feudal system. The evidence of this is that, in the Song (960-1279) and Ming (1368-1644) Dynasties, the Confucians developed a new idea of li corresponding to the idea of Tao. There is no En-glish word corresponding to li. Though it sometimes is translated as reason this is not its exact meaning, because li is understood as a general law prevailing throughout both nature and social life. Ob-viously, in preferring li to Tao, the post-Confucians emphasized the social and ethical element in their conception of the general law. Since li is the general law, it is also in the innate nature of man. "Li is mind," said Wang Yangming (1472-1528), a great Confucian in the Ming Dynasty. From Wang’s point of view, if one cultivates his mind perfectly and allows it to open freely, he certainly will know what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil; then he will behave conscientiously according to the ethical norm.

            The proposition "Li is mind" has also an epistemological meaning. Since both mind and nature are determined by the same law, i.e., li, and since the disclosing of the world corresponds to the opening of the mind, to know the world is to understand oneself, for mind is the origin of the meaning of the world. Thus, to know the world one should first of all rectify one’s mind to its original state, i.e., a clear state of mind, for a clear state of mind makes one more sensitive and attentive. On the contrary, if one’s mind is full of private desire and attracted by outer things, one will be obstructed from knowing other things which perhaps are more essential for one’s life. To keep the mind in a clear state one needs to keep quiet, to exclude all disturbance from the outside and to clear up all distracting thoughts and private interior desires.

            To keep oneself in a clear state of mind is also called "per-sisting in the li of heaven and destroying private desire." This is the method with which the Confucians undertake their spiritual self-cultivation. It is also a way of keeping good health. It used to be said that nine out of ten Confucians were good at traditional Chinese medicine.

            Both Taoism and Confucianism take Tao as the first principle. In sum, they thought that since knowing is boundless and it is impossible for the individual to learn all things, the most important thing for him is to grasp the key point, Tao, which is the general prin-ciple, the essence of everything. Only a person who has grasped Tao can obtain a deep understanding of the things he deals with and do his work well. The criterion for evaluating an art or technique is whether the work shows the author’s understanding of Tao. Taoism also says that to be a father one should show kindness to one’s son; while as a son, one should show filial piety to his parents. All of these are determined by the position one occupies in social life. Of course, in Confucianism it includes also that as a subject one must obey one’s lord. In short, the theory of Tao tells us that when a person lives his own life he should try to bear in his mind all relations between individual and society, and between man and nature. To live one’s life according to one’s place in the whole pattern of relationships is the way for the individual to transcend his limited life and to win thereby the full meaning of limited life. A person in such a state of mind is called a sage. Of course, he is a wise man, yet, since all go naturally and Tao is aimless, a wise man who follows Tao does not have any particular aim different from that of Tao. He appears to be foolish, a man of no will; yet, at the same time he surely is a man of strong will.

WISDOM IN LIFE

            People have long taken it as the philosophers’ task to search after wisdom, but now perhaps the problem of wisdom must no longer be left to philosophers alone. In truth, only in the search for wisdom, can one realize the value of life. Nowadays, various in-formation organizations and training centers in different skills have been founded, but people still do not pay sufficient attention to what wisdom is and what it pursues. What people want most is a skill, or the ability to grasp a skill. Generally people think of wisdom as something metaphysical, while skill or scientific knowledge is something real which they can put to use for some interest. The need for skill in social life is indubitable, yet, just as skill is some-thing real, it can never help go beyond his or her limited life. In fact, most skilled work can be done by a computer or an automatically controlled machine. To get the full significance of life, one must find one’s place in the system of general relations and act according to that position in the relational system. This is to say that one should grasp Tao; such is the work of wisdom.

            Here we use Tao, a concept borrowed from traditional Chinese philosophy, to express the idea of general relationship. The earth is an organism: all kinds of things on earth are linked together organically, and each has its being only as an organic part. The earth produces the human being, who reforms the earth. The human being organizes social life; society in turn determines the essence of man. All things exist through interplay one with another. Different things maintain their being in the different state of inter-play. This mode of interaction is what we call Tao. Man approaches Tao by keeping himself properly in a certain state of interplay. This is a process not only of knowing, but also of practice. Hence, Tao is not an object of knowledge, but the aim of wisdom.

            Tao is not something unchangeable. There is a constant pro-cess in which an old relationship is broken, and a new one comes into being. Perhaps, we are now at a turning point at which the old relation has been broken, while the new relation has not yet established its equilibrium. In this condition humanity faces serious challenges. First, the relation between humankind and nature has not been shaped in a reasonable manner. As we know, to improve their standard of living people invent all kinds of techniques, but they do so at the risk of damaging their life environment. As a result, the ecological balance has been seriously damaged, climactic conditions go from bad to worse, and a great quantity of irre-placeable natural resources are consumed. This threatens the existential condition for human beings. Second, the relation among people has not been shaped in a reasonable a manner. It is obvious as communication develops that the difference between the rich and the poor increases. The conflict among people from different interest groups and regions still exists, which in turn renders the world situation more restless and turbulent.

            Since man gains the meaning of life from the organic relation between himself and the outside world, where can he find its meaning if this has not been organically grounded? The main cause for being one dimensional is not the division of labor, but that one always finds oneself in a conflict between various purposes.

            This present situation urges human beings to organize social life reasonably; how can this be done? First of all, one may ask, what is the nature of social life in its organic relationship? Since the relation varies in the process of history, it has no determined mode. But what we can conceive is that the relation must be founded in accord with Tao, and that the natural process is one of the essential characters of Tao. From this point of view, it is not good for man to have too strong a will or desire, for it might often deviate from the process of nature, and thus from Tao.

            To form a new relation in accord with Tao is a problem not only of knowing, but of practice. In short there is need for wisdom. Nowadays, as the human power to reform nature grows ever stronger, the influence of man upon nature also becomes ever stronger. A small deviation from the natural process might tho-roughly change the environment for human existence. Also as people communicate with each other on a larger scale than ever, forming an organic relationship requires cooperation among people throughout the world. Only when people transcend their respective partial interests can they cooperate. It is wisdom which can help men to realize such transcendence.

            From the point of transcendence, we cannot say that current education is the cause for wisdom because, for the most part, education takes as its main aim to teach students some special profession. It does not carry students beyond the specializations they study, as various branches of knowledge separate from one another in the university. Some parents point their children toward grasping a skill early in their teens. In short, people take education as a means to achieve their interests, rather than as a way to virtue, not to speak of gaining a broad perspective open to all peoples and the world.