11. Wisdom as Speculative Knowledge and the Beginning of Philosophy

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Wisdom as Speculative Rather Than Practical Knowledge #

• Wisdom (σοφία/sophia) is not practical knowledge for making (ποίησις/poiesis) or doing (πρᾶξις/praxis)
• Speculative knowledge is pursued for its own sake, for understanding alone
• The sign of speculative knowledge: when all necessary things and arts for recreation exist, then such knowledge begins to be sought
• This proves wisdom is sought through no other need

Wonder (Θαυμάζειν/Thaumazein) as the Origin of Philosophy #

• Philosophy begins in wonder, not in practical necessity
• Men wonder about strange things close at hand, then progress to greater questions: the moon’s phases, solar eclipses, the stars, and finally the origin of the universe
• Wonder arises when what is so seems contrary to what is expected
• The man in doubt and wondering thinks himself ignorant and seeks to escape that ignorance
• Socrates in Plato’s Theaetetus: “There is no other beginning of philosophy than this” (οὐδ᾽ ἄλλη ἀρχὴ φιλοσοφίας)

The Nature of Speculative Knowledge: Freedom #

• Speculative knowledge is free (ἐλεύθερος/eleutheros) knowledge
• Just as a free man exists for his own sake and not for another, speculative knowledge is “for the sake of itself”
• The enslaved man exists for the good of his master; practical knowledge similarly serves utility
• This alone is free among the sciences
• The liberal arts (τριουμ/trivium and quadrivium) are called liberal because they are for the sake of knowing

Enslavement and the Pursuit of Wisdom #

• Man’s nature is enslaved in many ways:
  • Bodily needs (food, clothing, shelter)
  • Family obligations
  • Passions (anger, lust, fear)
• Wisdom’s pursuit represents a kind of freedom from these enslaving necessities
• Yet wisdom is “not a human possession” in this life because man is enslaved by nature
• According to Simonides: “God alone can have dishonor-free knowledge for its own sake. Man is not worthy to seek knowledge for itself”
• The divine cannot be envious; God does not begrudge creatures their excellence

The Divine Nature of Wisdom #

• Wisdom is the most divine knowledge in two senses:
  1. It is knowledge that God most of all would have (the kind of knowledge God possesses)
  2. It is knowledge about divine things (the first cause, which is God)
• God is among all causes; the first cause is God
• Such knowledge belongs to God alone, or God most of all
• Other kinds of knowledge are more necessary; none is better
• Wisdom is most honorable because God is most honorable

The Philomuthos and Stepping Stones to Philosophy #

• The philomuthos (φιλόμυθος/lover of myths) is in some way a philosopher
• Myths are wonderful things; the philomuthos delights in wonders
• Poetry and great literature (Homer, Shakespeare, Sophocles) provide stepping stones to philosophical wonder
• Albert the Great’s observation: Poetry gives us the way of wondering, disposing us toward the wonder of the philosopher
• Without Homer, there would have been no Greek philosophy
• The mathematikos (μαθηματικός/lover of learning) is a synonym for philomuthos
• Plato’s Academy inscription: “Let no one ignorant of geometry enter”

Two Kinds of Wonder #

• Wonder as seeking (wonder that drives inquiry): This wonder ceases once you know the cause
• Wonder as admiring (wonder at excellence): This wonder contemplates the excellence of a thing and increases with knowledge
• God compels our wonder in the second sense because of His excellence
• Once you know why something is so, the seeking wonder ends, but admiration remains

Iris as Symbol of Wonder’s Connection to the Divine #

• Hesiod (cited via Socrates in Theaetetus): “Iris was the child of Thalmas” (Θάλμας = wonder personified)
• Iris in Greek mythology: the rainbow and messenger of the gods
• The rainbow joins heaven and earth; the messenger unites the divine and human realms
• Socrates’ point: Wonder unites man with God through reason
• In the Old Testament, the rainbow signifies reconciliation between God and man (after the flood)

Key Arguments #

The Connection Between Universal Causes and Universal Predicates #

• There are two kinds of universality:
  • Universale in predicando (said of many things): e.g., “citizen” is more universal than “soldier”
  • Universale in causando (universal cause): e.g., the king’s causality extends to all citizens; the general’s only to soldiers
• The wise man who knows what is said of all (being itself) must know the causes of all (the first causes)
• The king corresponds to the citizen; the general corresponds to the soldier
• Political philosophy studies both citizen (what is universal in predication) and government (what is universal in causation) together
• The first cause is the cause of all causes (more fundamental than particular causes)

The Progression of Wonder #

• Wonder begins with what is strange and unexpected
• It progresses from the near to the far: from wonders close at hand to the moon, sun, eclipse, stars, and finally the origin of the universe
• Wonder is aroused when what is so seems contrary to expectation
• Examples that arouse wonder are paradoxical or counterintuitive

Wonder as Contrary to Expectation #

• If a friend acts as expected, we do not wonder
• If a friend acts strangely or unexpectedly, we wonder why
• Many great scientific discoveries came not from “Eureka!” but from “That’s weird. That’s odd. I didn’t expect that.”
• Einstein’s example: a magnet moving things without touching seemed to contradict the expectation that you must touch something to move it
• This aroused wonder and led to inquiry about fields and action at a distance

Important Definitions #

Θαυμάζειν (Thaumazein) #

• Wonder; the Greek word for amazement or astonishment
• The beginning and origin of philosophy according to both Aristotle and Plato
• Not mere curiosity or practical questioning, but genuine perplexity seeking understanding

Φιλόμυθος (Philomuthos) #

• Lover of myths; one who delights in wonderful things
• In some way a philosopher, though not yet fully so
• A stepping stone toward philosophical wonder

Μαθηματικός (Mathematikos) #

• Lover of learning; a synonym for philomuthos in Greek
• One disposed toward wonder through engagement with learning and theorems (as in Euclidean geometry)

Ἐλεύθερος (Eleutheros) #

• Free; existing for one’s own sake rather than for another’s
• Speculative knowledge is called “free” or “liberal” because it is pursued for its own sake

Ἐπιστήμη (Episteme) #

• Knowledge; specifically, systematic or scientific knowledge
• In this lecture’s context: speculative knowledge pursued for understanding

Σοφία (Sophia) #

• Wisdom; knowledge of first causes
• The most divine knowledge because it is what God most of all possesses and because it concerns God (the first cause)

Examples & Illustrations #

Geometric Paradoxes Arousing Wonder #

• Quadrilateral perimeter and area: A square of 5×5 has perimeter 20 and area 25; an oblong of 2×10 has perimeter 24 (more) but area 20 (less). Thus: less perimeter can contain more area
• This is contrary to expectation: we expect that if the sum of dimensions is greater, the area would be greater
• Incommensurability of the diagonal: The diagonal of a square cannot be measured by the smallest unit that measures the side. This seems wonderful because it appears that something is not measured by the smallest unit
• These examples arouse wonder because they contradict ordinary expectation

Einstein’s Magnet #

• Einstein’s father brought home a magnet that moved things without touching them
• This contradicted young Einstein’s experience that you must touch something to move it
• This aroused wonder and led to inquiry about fields and invisible forces
• Einstein later developed field theory to explain action at a distance

Canaletto’s Paintings of Venice #

• Paintings where wherever you look down the canvas, you’re looking down the canal
• The perspective is constructed so that the eyes seem to follow the viewer around the room
• Example of artistic excellence that arouses admiration (wonder at excellence)
• The artist (chief artist) is wiser than the carpenter or cook because the end (artistic effect) is known and directed

Russian Land Story #

• A man is given all the land he could run around in one day
• He tries to run around too much land and fails
• Illustrates how geometric understanding (choosing a square shape) would have allowed maximizing area with less perimeter
• Shows the practical application of theoretical knowledge

The Imitation of Animals #

• Berquist meows for grandchildren; the old cat responds
• Berquist makes a cow sound to animals in a field; they come running
• Shakespeare’s character Mark imitates the movements of an ape
• Man is the most imitative of all animals, and we learn by imitation
• This shows how imitation and wonder are connected in learning

Notable Quotes #

“There is no other beginning of philosophy than this.” — Socrates in Plato’s Theaetetus (concerning wonder/θαυμάζειν)

“By the God, Socrates, I am lost in wonder when I think of all these things. And sometimes when I regard them, it really makes my head swim.” — Theaetetus in Plato’s Theaetetus

“Theodore seems to be a pretty good guesser about your nature, that you are something of a philosopher. For this is very much what the philosopher undergoes, to wonder.” — Socrates in Plato’s Theaetetus

“Iris was the child of Thalmas.” — Hesiod (cited by Socrates in Plato’s Theaetetus)

“God alone can have dishonor-free knowledge for its own sake. Man, however, is not worthy to seek knowledge for itself.” — Simonides (cited by Aristotle)

“The divine is not able to be envious.” — Aristotle

“Mary hath chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her.” — Christ (Luke 10:42)

“God compels our wonder.” — Aristotle (Metaphysics, Book XII)

“Many great scientific discoveries were not made by ‘Eureka,’ but by ‘That’s weird. That’s odd. I didn’t expect that.’” — Berquist’s observation

Questions Addressed #

Why does Socrates say that Iris is the offspring of Thalmas (wonder)? #

• Iris, the rainbow and messenger of the gods, symbolizes the connection between heaven and earth
• The rainbow joins the divine realm with the human realm
• A messenger unites two otherwise separated realms
• Wonder unites man with God through reason, just as the rainbow unites heaven and earth
• In the Old Testament covenant tradition, the rainbow signifies reconciliation (God’s promise after the flood)
• Socrates does not explain this explicitly—it requires wonder on the part of the reader to understand it

How can man pursue knowledge for its own sake if his nature is enslaved? #

• In this life, man’s nature is enslaved to bodily needs, family obligations, and passions
• Yet the pursuit of wisdom represents a participation in divine freedom
• Speculative knowledge is “not a human possession” in a full sense; it belongs more properly to God
• The contemplative life, though difficult and not fully human in this earthly life, points to our highest calling
• In the beatific vision (seeing God face-to-face), all earthly knowledge appears as ignorance by comparison
• Theology serves as consolation for the soul before it sees God as He is
• Thomas Aquinas’s experience: after receiving supernatural knowledge of God, his own theological writings seemed like straw to him

Why is speculative knowledge more honorable than practical knowledge? #

• Practical knowledge serves necessity and utility; it is enslaved to an external end
• Speculative knowledge is free—pursued for its own sake with no external purpose
• It reflects and participates in the divine nature, as God’s knowledge is not for making or doing but for understanding
• The contemplative life, though pointing beyond this earthly existence, is superior to the practical life
• The wisdom that knows first causes is most divine because it concerns God and is the kind of knowledge God most of all possesses

How does poetry dispose us toward philosophy? #

• Poetry arouses wonder through beautiful and wonderful things (myths)
• This wonder is a stepping stone to philosophical wonder
• Great poets like Homer provided the cultural and imaginative foundation for Greek philosophy
• Without this poetic preparation (stepping stone), philosophical inquiry would not have developed
• Albert the Great: “Poetry gives us the way of wondering”
• Man learns by imitation; we imitate what we encounter in great literature

Why does wonder seem contrary to what we expect? #

• If something happens as expected, there is nothing to wonder at
• If something happens contrary to expectation, we are compelled to ask why
• Examples: a magnet moving things without touching; a quadrilateral with less perimeter but more area; the diagonal of a square being incommensurable
• These arouse wonder because the mind expects one outcome but encounters another
• This mismatch between expectation and reality drives the search for causes

What is the relationship between the universal in predication and the universal in causation? #

• The more universal in predication (said of more things) corresponds to the more universal in causation
• Example: “citizen” is more universal in predication than “soldier” because every soldier is a citizen but not every citizen is a soldier
• The king’s causality extends to all citizens; the general’s extends only to soldiers
• A knowledge of all things (being itself) requires knowledge of the causes of all things (first causes)
• The wise man who understands what is said of all must understand the first causes that make all things what they are