Welcome to Part VII of our course, Wisdom is the Way: The Timeless Art of Leading a Life. In today’s meditation, we continue our exploration of principles—specifically, distinguishing the good from bad in daily life.
As discussed in our introduction to The Cardinal Virtues last week, our aim is not to know what virtue is but to be virtuous. Next week’s meditation will focus on the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.
The Wisdom to Know the Difference
In the Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, the biographer Diogenes of Laertes explained that the Stoics defined wisdom as knowing what is good (virtue), what is bad (vice), and what is indifferent (neither good nor bad).
One could reasonably argue that all philosophical and spiritual traditions follow a similar framework. Traditions usually have principles and practices identified as good and things to avoid (usually the opposite of what is good).
The American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr highlighted the wisdom of knowing the difference in his famous serenity prayer. Although originally longer, today, it’s commonly quoted: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
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