4. Wonder, Wisdom, and the Divine Possession of Knowledge

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Wonder as the Origin of Philosophy #

• Philosophy begins through wonder (thaumazein) about things that seem strange or extraordinary
• Two kinds of wonder: (1) curiosity-wonder (not knowing why things are as they are) and (2) admiration-wonder (appreciation of excellence after knowing the cause)
• The philomuthos (lover of stories/myths) is akin to the philosopher because myths are composed of wonders
• Wonder about chance events and close-at-hand phenomena naturally leads to inquiry about greater things (celestial bodies, the origin of the universe)
• As ignorance is relieved through knowledge of causes, curiosity-wonder diminishes, but admiration-wonder may increase

The Six Characteristics of the Wise Man #

From Aristotle’s treatment in the opening of Metaphysics Book I:

1. Knows all things in some way - through knowledge of universals, not particulars
2. Knows difficult things - things furthest from the senses, most universal
3. More certain - possesses knowledge with greater precision because fewer things require consideration
4. Able to teach - can provide causes and reasons, not merely report experience
5. Seeks knowledge for its own sake - not for practical utility or making things
6. Commands and orders - wisdom pertains to those who direct, not merely obey

Wisdom as Speculative and Liberal Knowledge #

• Speculative/Theoretical Knowledge (theoria): knowledge pursued for understanding itself, not for practical results or making
• Liberal Knowledge (liberalis): free knowledge, pursued for its own sake, not enslaved to external purposes
• Only wisdom among the sciences is pursued entirely for its own sake
• Contrasted with practical knowledge (praxis) and making (poiesis)
• Man is enslaved to many things (bodily needs, passions, practical concerns), so wisdom seems to transcend human nature

The Progression Toward Knowledge #

• Sensing (most known to us, least knowable in itself) → Memory → Experience → Universal Knowledge → Wisdom (least known to us, most knowable in itself)
• The most universal involves fewer things to consider and is therefore more certain
• Example: arithmetic is more certain than geometry because numbers are simpler than points; geometry is more certain than natural philosophy because it has fewer cases to consider
• The wise man knows causes, not mere facts; the experienced man knows “that it is so” but not “why it is so”

Wisdom as Divine Knowledge #

• Knowledge can be called divine in two ways: (1) the kind of knowledge God himself would have, and (2) knowledge about divine things
• Wisdom uniquely satisfies both criteria:
  • It concerns first causes and beginnings
  • God is the first cause
  • Therefore wisdom is about God and is the kind of knowledge God would have
• “Either God alone possesses this knowledge, or man possesses it only in a minor and imperfect way”
• Because wisdom is divine in both senses, it is the most honorable of all sciences

Why Wisdom Seems Not to Be a Human Possession #

• Man is enslaved in many ways:
  • To bodily needs (food, sleep, shelter)
  • To passions (fear, lust, anger)
  • To practical concerns (earning money, maintaining property)
• Wisdom requires complete freedom from these constraints to pursue knowledge for its own sake
• Yet Aristotle qualifies: wisdom is not impossible for man, but difficult and exceptional
• It requires leisure and freedom from necessity
• Berquist’s family example: grandfather (immigrant blacksmith) had no leisure; father gained some leisure through hard work; the brothers could pursue higher education only because their father achieved success and leisure

The Order of Wonder and the Path to Knowledge #

• Men first wonder about strange things close at hand (concrete, sensible phenomena)
• Then wonder grows about greater things (celestial phenomena, origins of the universe)
• Wonder proceeds from ignorance about why things are as they are
• The investigation seeks causes to explain the phenomena
• Knowledge of causes relieves the curiosity-wonder, though it may awaken admiration-wonder at the excellence revealed

Key Arguments #

Why All Men Desire to Know #

• All men by nature desire to know - this is demonstrated by:
  • Delight in the senses, especially sight, pursued for their own sake and not merely for practical benefit
  • The universal love of stories and plots (philomuthos nature in all humans)
  • Example: watching a movie late at night despite practical inconvenience (being tired for work the next day) shows knowledge is pursued for its own sake
  • Children naturally desire to hear stories
  • Even Dickens’ serialized novels aroused intense desire to know what happens next

Why Wisdom Is More Noble Than Other Sciences #

• Wisdom concerns first causes and beginnings while other sciences are subordinate
• That science which “considers causes” is more fit for teaching
• Understanding and knowledge for their own sake belong most to the knowledge that most knowable, and causes are most knowable in themselves (they explain effects)
• The chief science is more ruling than subordinate sciences because it knows “that for the sake of which each thing ought to be done” (the final cause)
• Since God is the first cause and God is the good (the end of all things), wisdom must know about God and is therefore most excellent

Why Wisdom Is Not Merely Practical #

• Men seek this knowledge “through no other need” - not for survival or recreation
• Once all necessary things and those for recreation exist, such knowledge began to be sought
• Therefore we seek knowledge not for any use, but for the sake of understanding
• Aristotle notes this empirically: only when societies achieve surplus beyond necessity do people pursue contemplative knowledge

Important Definitions #

Key Terms (Greek and Latin) #

• θαυμάζειν (thaumazein): Wonder; the starting point of philosophy; both curiosity about why things are and admiration at their excellence
• θεωρία (theoria) / Contemplatio: Theoretical or speculative knowledge; knowledge pursued for understanding itself
• φίλοσοφος (philosophos): Lover of wisdom
• φιλόμυθος (philomuthos): Lover of stories/myths; one who delights in wonders; akin to the philosopher
• μῦθος (mythos): Myth, story, or plot (as in Aristotle’s use in the Poetics)
• Liberalis: Free; pertaining to knowledge pursued for its own sake, not enslaved to external purposes
• Praxis: Action; practical knowledge aimed at doing
• Poiesis: Making; productive knowledge aimed at creating external products
• Universale in causando: Universal in causation; the first cause’s universal efficacy
• Universale in predicando: Universal in predication; what is said of many things
• Sapientia: Wisdom; knowledge of first causes and beginnings

The Four Questions (from Posterior Analytics, referenced) #

1. Does it exist? (an est?)
2. What is it? (quid est?)
3. Is this that? (utrum hoc illud?)
4. Why is this that? (cur hoc illud?)

Note: Questions 1 and 2 are the primary focus in metaphysical inquiry; one asks whether God exists, then what is God (to which the answer is “I AM”, being itself).

Examples & Illustrations #

Personal and Cultural Examples #

• Wonder in everyday life: Einstein’s father brought home a magnet that moved objects without contact—arousing wonder in the young Einstein
• Chance events arousing wonder: Romeo and Juliet meeting (via chance) leading to love; a man meeting his future wife in a car accident; an invitation leading to discovery of a sought book; a person missing an airplane flight (due to inexperienced taxi driver) that subsequently crashed
• Berquist’s family history: Illustrating the necessity of leisure for philosophical pursuit:
  • Grandfather came from Sweden at age 12 with no education; became a blacksmith
  • Father (son of blacksmith) worked his way through high school; became a manager and eventually started his own company
  • Once the father achieved success and leisure, he ensured his three sons (including Berquist) received higher education
  • This demonstrates that philosophical pursuit requires freedom from practical necessity

Ecclesiastical Examples #

• Priests in Quebec: A surplus of priests freed some from parish duties, allowing them to pursue academic and contemplative work
• Contrast with modern priests: In some dioceses, lack of priests prevents anyone from being sent for higher studies because every priest is needed for parish work

Geometric Examples #

• The incommensurability of the diagonal and side of a square: A famous example of something that arouses wonder (how can two magnitudes have no common measure?); once the cause is understood, the curiosity ceases, though admiration may remain
• Euclid’s Elements: Demonstrates simplicity of proofs revealing profound truths; examples include the angle inscribed in a semicircle being always right, and the Pythagorean theorem
• Simple geometric theorem: When a straight line is cut into equal and unequal segments, the rectangle contained by the unequal segments plus the square on the line between the points of section equals the square on the whole line—simple statement of a profound truth

Astronomical Example #

• Viewing Saturn through a telescope: Personal anecdote of seeing Saturn’s rings through a telescope for the first time—arousing wonder far beyond viewing pictures in astronomy books

Literary Examples #

• Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet prologue: Written in sonnet form; prepares the audience emotionally for tragedy by emphasizing pity and fear (the emotions purged by tragedy)
• Shakespeare on reason (from Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 4): “God-like reason, which looks before and after”—the wise man sees the whole situation
• Meter and wonder in poetry: Trochaic meter (accent on first syllable) more appropriate for tension and the extraordinary; the witches’ speech “Fair is foul and foul is fair, / Hover through the fog and filthy air” uses trochaic meter and incomplete final foot, arousing wonder
• “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”: A nursery rhyme in primarily trochaic meter (though with incomplete final foot) appropriate for expressing wonder; Mozart composed variations on this melody
• St. Thérèse of Lisieux (The Little White Flower): “The nearer one approaches God, the simpler one becomes”—illustrating how perfection tends toward simplicity rather than complexity
• Albert the Great (teacher of Thomas Aquinas): “Poetry gives us the way of wondering” (dat modum ad morandi)—one must be a lover of stories before becoming a true philosopher

Question about Contemporary Culture #

• A student asks: Has wonder been neutralized or short-circuited in contemporary culture? Can wonder be used for evangelical purposes? Berquist responds that schools don’t encourage wonder; he contrasts this with his experience of returning to Euclid’s Elements with renewed appreciation of geometric wonders

Notable Quotes #

“For it’s the cause that makes known the effect.” — Aristotle, cited in lecture on the role of causes in knowledge

“The rule of many is not good. Let there be one.” — Homer, cited by Aristotle regarding the unity of the first cause

“The nearer one approaches God, the simpler one becomes.” — St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Little White Flower

“Brevity is the soul of wisdom.” — Shakespeare, cited regarding simplicity and perfection

“Without love, even the most brilliant deeds count for nothing.” — St. Thérèse of Lisieux

“God is unchangeable.” — Referenced as fundamental attribute of God’s substance in metaphysical inquiry

“I AM who AM.” — God’s answer to Moses; interpreted as indicating that God’s nature/substance is being itself (to be)

“Both from a regard for the order of society, and from a veneration for the great source of all order.” — James Boswell, Life of Samuel Johnson, cited regarding reason and order

“It belongs to wise men to order things.” — Aristotle, cited as fundamental characterization of wisdom

Questions Addressed #

On the Nature of Wonder #

• Q: What is the difference between the two kinds of wonder? A: Curiosity-wonder arises from ignorance and seeks causes; admiration-wonder arises from knowing the excellence of something and proceeds from knowledge. The first is relieved by knowledge of causes; the second increases as understanding deepens.

On Knowledge and Necessity #

• Q: Why does a person stay up late watching a movie despite practical inconvenience? A: This demonstrates that knowledge/understanding is desired for its own sake, not merely for practical benefit. The desire to know what happens overrides prudential concerns about tiredness.

On Philosophy and Literature #

• Q: Why must one read poetry and literature before becoming a true philosopher? A: Poetry and stories train the mind in wonder and raise us to love knowledge for its own sake. Albert the Great states that poetry “gives the way of wondering” (dat modum ad morandi). Fiction disposes one for philosophy by cultivating the philomuthos (lover of stories) nature in us.

On Wisdom and Servitude #

• Q: Why does wisdom seem not to be a human possession? A: Man is enslaved to bodily needs, passions, and practical concerns in many ways. Wisdom requires complete freedom to pursue knowledge for its own sake. Only God is entirely free; therefore wisdom seems to be divine rather than human. Yet man can participate in it imperfectly.

On Causes and Questions #

• Q: What is fallacious about asking “Why does God exist?” A: If God had a cause of his existence, he would not be the first cause and thus not God. The proper questions are: (1) Does God exist? and (2) What is God? God’s answer “I AM” indicates that his nature/substance is being itself; there is no cause of being itself.

On Divine Simplicity #

• Q: How can God be both entirely simple and the source of all order? A: God’s perfection is altogether simple (unlike creatures who must possess many things to be perfect). Yet his wisdom orders all things because he is wisdom itself. Simplicity and perfection are compatible in God’s nature; the greater the perfection, the simpler the nature.

On Poetry and Meter #

• Q: Why do the witches in Macbeth speak in trochaic meter? A: Trochaic meter (accent on first syllable) is more appropriate for the extraordinary and tense situations. The witches are more wonderful than ordinary humans, so the different meter arouses wonder. The incomplete final foot also contributes to this effect.

On Matter and Form in Literature #

• Q: What is the relationship between a premium/prologue and the main work? A: A premium (prologue) prepares the audience emotionally and intellectually for what follows, showing the desirability of the goal. It functions analogously to a theatrical prologue (like Shakespeare’s to Romeo and Juliet) or a musical overture (like Mozart’s to Don Giovanni), which introduce and prepare one for the main work.