Outline:
- Introduction.
- Types of fools.
- Self-deception.
In this world of ours, most men are fools. The fools in human society may be divided under two heads; First those who are really ignorant but always think that they know much and Secondly, those who know much and yet think that they know little. The first group of fools may be described as a set of inspired fools while the second group of fools are, in reality philosophers in disguise.
The fools of the first type are numerous. We often see on the political platform demagogues who play upon the feelings of the mob and mislead men. They think that they understand the deeper political problems of the country in their international context. But the case is just the reverse. They freely make use of cheap rhetoric and the other ordinary arts of capturing the mob mind.
In recent times, there has been no doubt a great industrial development in the country. But it is a painful fact that most of the industries are not run on strictly scientific lines: for instance, in some of the biggest galvanized iron industries, the scrapings of iron-sheets are thrown away as waste material. The managers of those concerns do not know how to apply the latest advanced methods of science to the industry. They have inspired fools who think that Chey know much but, in reality, know little and are ‘fooled to the top of heir bent.'[the_ad id=”17141″]
Self-deception is the greatest of decepʻions. Modern. psychology the psychology of Freud-teaches that in the unconscious life of man there various forces which control and guide his waking life; these secret forces of the unconscious mislead and deceive man in the different spheres of life. A man who says that he does not like flattery often really likes it as Julius Caesar did in Shal-espeare’s play Julius Caesar. There are many people who having saved some money at the end of their career, desire to invest it in business with a view try growing rich soon. In reality, they do not know the secret of business and, in consequence, lose their money and meet with disappointment. Lastly, it is a commonplace occurrence that many students in the several Universities of Pakistan take up subjects for which they have no aptitude and meet with failure at the Examinations.
A wise man always subjects himself to self-examination. Every man in this world has strength as well as weakness. Therefore, everyone should practice self-criticism in a mood of humility and find out his limitations as well as capabilities. Humility is the condition of wisdom. It is said about Newton, the greatest mathematician of England, that, in spite of his deep and vast knowledge of Science, he used to say, “I am just picking pebbles on the shore o. the sea of knowledge.”
Stephen Leacock, the well-known political economist of Canada, in his Model Memoirs, speaks of an eminent Professor, who had worked for furteen years on the subject of Machiavelli the great political thinker of Italy. When the Professor Published h’s bock on Machivelli, the book was declared by competent critics immature and full of wrong judgment. Now the Professor who was convinced of the justice of the review was an example of wisdom and humility.[the_ad id=”17142″]
The difference between knowledge and wisdom is always sharp and clear, Knowledge always makes one proud; it makes one forget one’s limitations. Wisdom, however, is always humble. In Memoriam, Tennyson draws a fine distinction between knowledge and wisdom; he describes knowledge is “earthly” and wisdom as “heavenly”.
For she is earthly of the mind,
And wisdom heavenly of the soul.
If too much reading, as Solomon said, is a weariness of the flesh, excessive knowledge is a tyranny of the mind. Wisdom is in fact, the flowering of the spirit. A wise man is he who is ever conscious of the limitations of the mind and walks cautiously on the pathway to Reality. The English poet, Cowper rightly remarks:
Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much
Wisdom is humble that he knows no more.