"You are indeed clever, but beware of cleverness."

[TMA_1]

I saw an independant film about a spiritual seeker in india around the time of the Buddha. THe movie is called Sidharttha. That is the guy's name, and he searches everywhere he can for the wisdom of beyond. At one moment in time though he meets with the buddha, and speaks with him. They discuss and sidharttha tells the Buddha of the struggle within himself. he tells him that he isnt fulfilled with contemplation, or the relativity of things, and that though he see's wisdom in Buddha, that he cant find his path with him. Anyways the Buddha understands sidharttha, and tells him that his way isnt the only way to enlightenment. He then makes the comment to sidharttha, "You are indeed clever, but beware of cleverness".

Later in the movie the guy finds a girl, and looks at her as his path of enlightenment, she is noble born. He captures her heart, but after being with her for awhile he grows soft and unspiritual, arrogant. He lost his way.

What I am getting across, or at least trying to get across in this post is the fact that intelligence is a two edged sword. It reaps many benefits, but there is danger as well.

In my dad's master's thesis, he discusses a point that is actually published in other acclaimed journals. That is the point that many of the philosophers in mainland europe looked down upon the english during the 1800s (the movements to help and aid the poor at the time), because they werent an supposedly enlightened bunch. They had few philosophers to speak of, and they supposedly didnt "contemplate", but only acted. You can find discussions of this by many famous philosophers at the time, and before this time. My dad wrote that there were two groups in his thesis, the one that took action, and the one that contemplated. People like spurgen and meuller acted, and made orphanages, homes for the poor and whatnot. Examples of a contemplative type would be carl marx. The problem with many (not all) contemplative works, is that they are purely theoretical, and seem to work good on paper, but rarely work in reality. The active people of the enlightenment didnt compose theories and ideas, but acted on the problems. Now did they help substancially? not much, but they tried to act.

What I am getting at is that overintellectualism leads to overthinking, and that often it can muddy things up, make things relativistic and hazy. In our society these days, "intellectualism" is for the vocal independant type. Flying in the face of eastern and middle eastern philosophies that usually teach moderation and silence. Now days it seems that people think intelligence is equated with speaking out, and fighting for your rights. How many times have I been called stupid or dumb simply because I tell many radicals how full of it they are. That somehow since I disagree with them I am not one of them, and that makes me unintelligent.

Many of you probably havent faced this before, but some may have.

I just think that many dont even know what intelligence is, and those that do just dont seem to realize that like all things, intelligence should be used in moderation.

I remember one time chatting with this girl via AIM, for a few days she seemed cool, a tad self absorbed, but I overlooked it. But it continued every day. she would constantly brand people as unintelligent or "below her", she would continue to brag about her various achievements at her school.

Nothing wrong with a little bragging sometimes, but this girl, good grief! I finally told her that true intelligence goes to those who are humble and moderate, those that dont need others opinions of their intellectual capabilities. needless to say she didnt talk to me anymore.lol

What do you guys think? Do you think that many people now days have the wrong impression of what intelligence is, almost turning it into a form of knowing things, or of being apart of a worldly crowd. Or do you think that people do know what intelligence is but simply overdo it, or focus too much on western philosophy, or do you think I am wrong?lol comment people! ;)

[Apollyon]

I've always thought of intelligence as the 'ability to understand'.

[Egeides]

It is not intelligence itself that can be overused, but its inclination towards theoric thinking that can go awry. Intelligence is a force, but there still lacks a direction. Should you give it the wrong direction, like forgetting to go and get pragmatical information, you will then have an incredible strength to go more and more into what's false. Intelligence is a force, a tool to be used. A tool can be used to kill or build, optimally or not.

And many people tend to believe that intelligence is only what they classed it as beeing. You have bad grades? Not intelligent enough or too lazy. Stuff like that. Generally, it is because intelligence is put in a box and all the intelligence that's outside the box is not seen as intelligence. I believe it is Frank Herbert that said (more or less exactly) "Genius is craziness within the form."

Post Sciptum: I would also add that a danger of theoric thinking is to believe that ideas are things and not only its caracteristics. Something is red, round and smells funy? This is not what it is but only how it is. It may seem very banal, but some became crazy by not seeing this. Why? I believe it is because they became dissociated with reality.

[Acriku]

Define overintellectualism. Do you mean people who are very smart?

Also, I don't see how something being "eastern" and thus "ancient" and "wise" and "beyond our western thinking," makes it at all correct. That seemed to be the impression you were giving off, anyway.

[nemafakei]

Your analogy to a sword was closest... intelligence can be abused, I agree, and it other things can be mistaken for intelligence. But it is not the fault of intelligence that caused, for example this girl to become arrogant, but the girl's other characteristics. I'd imagine she'd be a pain, if intelligent or stupid.

Intelligence mostly concerns the ability to calculate, to understand, learn, and progress witht hat learning to a certain extent without instruction.

Wisdom concerns more your general knowledgeability, your caution with ideas, and similar.

But both of these are only seen through the filter of your personality. You could be incredibly intelligent without ever bothering to use it. Not to do so is an unintelligent action, but the intelligent do not always do what is intelligent.

[TMA_1]

hmm you are right acriku, but I wasent getting at that, poor communication on my part. I guess what I am trying to say is that western philosopher is ethnocentric, and rarely takes into account eastern ideals, including that of wisdom. Even most buddhists I know around where I live dont really know what they practice. I even know one who says he worships buddha.lol it really shouldnt be funny, it is kinda sad.

What I mean by overintellectualism is where you stop acting, and start overanalyzing, and by doing this nothing really gets done, you make pet theories that sound good but rarely work because the paradigms of the theories are based on one's own perspective.

Nema:

she was a pain no matter what.hehe and you are right in the fact that it is a sort of tool. That it is neutral. Scratch that, it isnt a tool but a state of mind. Wisdom though isnt just the knowledge of a think, but the application of the knowledge. They are three seperate things, intelligence knowledge and wisdom. At least I think so.

[Caid Ivik]

"I know, that I don't know anything." - Socrates, 5th century BC

"All we can learn is, that we won't learn everything." - Nicolaus Cusanius, 15th century AD

"You are indeed clever, but beware of cleverness." - TMA, 21th century AD

I see, there is always someone who finds the truth ;D Yes, really, we can't say our intelligence is the main value until we won't be able to describe it. And it is impossible as it is a divine thing, so I agree with you. Some people overestimate themselves. Or maybe they have doubts about their "perfection", so they try to please themselves by searching for "lesser" ones.

[Acriku]

Ok, TMA, got it.

Caid, it was Buddha not TMA :P

[TMA_1]

actually I paraphrased it.

besides acriku, we all know I am wiser than buddha.... ;) ahh, that joke wasent even funny. ::) hehe