Knowledge is the understanding of facts, objects, ideas and much more. Whether it is a memory, reason, inquiry or education, everything is a part of knowledge.
Knowledge can be theoretical as well as practical.
A statement or fact has to satisfy certain criteria to be considered knowledge. It must be believable, true and justifiable.
Knowledge is a power that cannot be taken away. It can be educational, philosophical, physical, environmental and even emotional.
Knowledge does not function as a single unit. It deals with and is related to various aspects and fragments. Two such aspects that identify knowledge as their fundamental basis are Intelligence and Wisdom.
Although both these terms might seem similar, they are quite different.
Intelligence and Wisdom are such characteristics that are correlated with each other. They are both based on gaining and applying knowledge to a certain thing.
In addition to this, intelligence and wisdom are nothing but two operations of our mind. Although they differ in meaning, they are built and grown similarly.
Interestingly, both these characteristics deal with the same complex and powerful situations the human mind is subjected to. Even though they coexist, they do not go hand in hand in every case.
An intelligent person might not be a wise person. The vice-versa is also true.
Intelligence is related to both positive and negative aspects of knowledge, while wisdom is a more positive and spiritual aspect of knowledge that focuses mainly on morality.
Key Takeaways
- Intelligence refers to a person’s ability to learn, understand, and apply knowledge and skills. In contrast, wisdom refers to using knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments.
- Intelligence is largely innate and can be measured through tests, while wisdom is gained through life experiences and is not easily measurable.
- While intelligence can help achieve success, wisdom is important for achieving happiness and fulfilment.
Intelligence vs Wisdom
Intelligence is the ability to process information and learn new things quickly, involving cognitive abilities such as problem-solving and logical reasoning. Wisdom is a broader concept encompassing cognitive abilities, experience, intuition, and emotional intelligence.
Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | Intelligence | Wisdom |
|---|---|---|
| Level | Intelligence is a basic level aspect of the mind. | Wisdom is a complex level aspect of the mind. |
| Knowledge | It deals with gaining knowledge easily and instantly. | While it gains knowledge through long experiences. |
| Time Period | It is an instant trait that is not time-taking. | It requires relatively more time. |
| Epitome | Getting a basic understanding of the context is its epitome. | Whereas the understanding here needs to be deeper and wider. |
| Theory | The theory of intelligence is to combine knowledge with real life and understand it. | The theory of wisdom is to apply the knowledge learnt in real life. |
| Winning | Winning is an important thing in intelligence. | While winning is not an important issue in wisdom. |
| Personality | Someone intelligent is very competitive and is open to learning and gaining knowledge. | Someone wise is an empathetic, grounded and learning person. |
What is Intelligence?
Intelligence has a vast meaning to it. It is an aspect of knowledge that deals with understanding logical, emotional, creative, critical and problematic facts and ideas.
In simpler words, it can be defined as the eagerness to anticipate or gain knowledge and information.
The meaning and understanding of intelligence differ from person to person. People vary from each other in terms of their understanding ability and thinking process.
All of this gives an idea about intelligence. The concepts of intelligence constitute the basic level thoughts of the mind.
The base of intelligence is gaining knowledge easily and instantly without utilising a lot of time. There have always been debates on the correct and real meanings and definitions of intelligence.
Intelligence has various aspects and parts of its own. In a literal sense, intelligence is crafted and utilised in various ways and scenarios.
Human intelligence, Social intelligence, Emotion intelligence, Artificial Intelligence etc., are the terms that deal with various intelligence scenarios.
The difference in views of individuals comes from ideological preferences that affect the aspects of intelligence. The concept of morality is not its part, as intelligence can be progressive and regressive simultaneously.
Someone intelligent focuses on the ups as well as downsides of gaining knowledge.
What is Wisdom?
Wisdom is an aspect of knowledge which is the ability to gain knowledge about information and facts and act according to it in real-life situations. Unbiased thinking, empathy, ethics, compassion and non-attachment are the main attributes of wisdom.
Just like intelligence, even wisdom has many meanings and definitions. The main idea of wisdom revolves around gaining and applying knowledge benevolently and empathetically.
Moreover, wisdom has a thing in it to reveal the outcomes in several cases.
Earlier, wisdom was considered a godly virtue. The ancient Greeks associated wisdom with their gods and goddesses.
They believed that wisdom is deeper than just gaining knowledge. Even the Romans had the same idea about wisdom.
Wisdom had an important place within Christianity too.
Wisdom is achieved over a long period of experience. It focuses mainly on the spiritual and religious aspects of knowledge in one’s life.
Everyone’s life differs in one way or the other. People have varying experiences within their lifetime, which speaks about their wisdom.
Self-direction is the basis of wisdom. Personal growth is one important term that relates to it. Wisdom is always progressive and acts according to values and morality.
Someone wise understands situations well and has a precious stand in the human world.
Main Differences Between Intelligence and Wisdom
- Intelligence needs a basic level of understanding, while wisdom needs a complex level of understanding.
- Intelligence deals with instant knowledge; wisdom deals with longer experiences.
- Wisdom is time-taking; intelligence is not.
- Wisdom is deeper and wider as compared to intelligence.
- Competitiveness and learning are the traits of intelligence. Empathy and compassion are the traits of wisdom.
Last Updated : 11 June, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
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