Knowledge is defined as the accumulation of facts and information whereas wisdom is seen as the synthesis of knowledge and experiences into insights that deepen one’s understanding of relationships and the meaning of life. Therefore knowledge is a tool and wisdom is the craft in which the tool is used. Wisdom can be seen as a healthy dose of perspective, the ability to make sound judgments about a subject whereas knowledge is simply knowing. In the words of Einstein, "wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” which is why knowledge comes but wisdom lingers. 

However, too much knowledge can also lead to ignorance. It can be understood as a wilful blindness, something Socrates found in the men of highest reputation during his analysis. Excessive consumption of facts may cause people to specialise in a particular craft but this utilitarian mode of acquiring knowledge can be numbing for the soul. Even so, Socrates’ idea of ignorance is paradoxical in the sense that it coincides with the modern adage of ‘ignorance is bliss’ in that he attaches epistemic value to it as explained further in the essay.

By using Plato’s ‘Apology’as the foundation of my arguments I shall attempt to elucidate how the concepts of knowledge, wisdom and ignorance have developed through time to arrive at their present connotation and meaning. I shall attempt to explain how they have shaped our perception as well as the world around us through their incorporation into the existing power structures and as a consequence into our lifestyles by the means of different activities.

The defining moment in the history of human evolution would perhaps be the creation of the individual or self from the collective consciousness. This I or self is the basis of all thought and psychology, having given birth to the ‘mind’- the embodiment of which enabled us to perceive the world from the threshold of self. The mind then began generating thoughts, conceptions and beliefs about the world that appeared as truths or knowledge to itself. 

The story of the forbidden fruit is perfect to explain the birth of self-consciousness. The tree of knowledge can be understood as a metaphor for the desire to see oneself outside the collective which explains the temptation to eat its fruit (the knowledge of self explains).

The sustained interaction of the self-consciousness of one individual with that of others led to sharing and co-relating of these truths, giving birth to common knowledge, the refinement of which led to the creation of language which in turn created knowledge systems as we know them today.This explains why it is often said that reality is a creation of the mind-synonymous (on a macroscopic scale) to the myth of creation in that Brahma manifested the universe from the power of his thoughts. Thus, all knowledge can be understood as a product of self-consciousness.

Having established this premise, I shall go on to point that since knowledge is specific in nature, it requires to be documented, which provides it with a structure as opposed to wisdom which is usually passed on orally and therefore less structured. The need to impart knowledge of particular crafts might have induced ancient communities to school2their subjects in skills essential for survival or social welfare such as medicine, mathematics, astronomy, warfare and politics. The structuralisation of knowledge generates power structures around it giving knowledge the power to dictate or control its subjects. Knowledge systems therefore are imperative for the creation of hierarchies and integral to governance. This not only explains how modern schools came into being but also highlights their crucial role in establishing ideologies and manufacturing consent through the creation of self-validating facts and discourses.

State’s role in deciding which facts are the ‘truth’ and can comprise knowledge gives it the power to establish norms, laws that govern the life of its subjects and shape the reality they live in. This Foucauldian concept can be evoked to understand why thousands of books were burnt in Nazi Germany or the recent changes in curriculum for schools and universities in order to steer clear of all that would be subversive to the State’s ideology.

Similarly, the insistence of the current regime to overwrite India’s history with an islamophobic ink so as to establish their own truth as universal by manufacturing facts is a testimony of the power knowledge holds. Thus, making it imperative to eradicate or prosecute those who pose a threat to this narrative through counter facts (such as Rana Ayyub, Ramchandra Guha, Arundhati Roy, Kunal Kamra among others), not quite dissimilar to the way Socrates was.

Socratic wisdom however is the abiding paradox in that he believes wisdom to lie in the recognition of one's own ignorance. He feels that only through the acknowledgement of these limitations can the mind be open to receiving since it is not the wise who seek neither do the ignorant4 but those who have the knowledge of their own ignorance, thus making them wise.

In Apology, Socrates infers from his experience of questioning men that they often believed to be expert on matters they knew nothing about, leading him to conclude that he might just be the wisest of the lot because he himself makes no such claims. He believed in clearing one's mind of false ideas, even if it means to have to accept the falsity of our belief. His insistence on unlearning dogmatic beliefs through contemplation has been translated into popular discourses today as ‘keeping an open mind.’ As Camus said “the need to be right is the sign of a vulgar mind”. 

Since our entire knowledge comes from language which in itself is not universal and has no real meaning to it besides the one we attach to it consequently, all knowledge we possess has no inherent meaning either besides the one we attach with it.

For instance, on the subject of wisdom the Bible says, “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” And again “He catches the wise in their craftiness5. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. The Bible corresponds with his remarks on the futility of worldly knowledge. Socrates stresses that it is only those who see the meaninglessness of such knowledge realise that they know nothing about anything and thus truly wise. That said, Socrates talks of knowledge and wisdom that is for the well being of the soul, one that is spiritual in nature.

Socrates’ idea of wisdom and knowledge is where many modern and medieval philosophies converge. Recent decades have seen a going back to the ancient cultures and philosophies to harness the wisdom of ancient civilisations as a result of disillusionment with institutions such as religion, family, State (be it monarchy or democracy) in the aftermath of the world war second and the rise of capitalism. Due to an increase in mental health disorders such as depression and suicide the acceptance of existential, absurdist and anarchist philosophies has been on the rise. While they might help some people to deal with their problems not all of us can embrace meaninglessness or uncertainty equally well. 

Socrates’ philosophy of rejecting worldly knowledge and the narcissism attached with it to pursue true wisdom through the spiritual might be the hope the rest of us need to deal with the evils of living in the late-capitalistic age. Thus it is for the intellectuals, philosophers and seekers to continue this noble quest by challenging and reshaping the existing notions of knowledge, wisdom and ignorance and perhaps produce a radical shift in the society through their ideas. 

The pursuit of spiritual knowledge has been popularised by seekers in recent decades who engage in activities of all kinds to achieve this knowledge or truth. Some of them go out in the nature and worship the spirits of the elements, treading the path of our pagan ancestors others dabble in dark arts such as tarot reading, magic, sacrificial rituals and seances to communicate with these spirits (perhaps Socrates’ ‘divine sign’ who he gains insights from are spirits of the same kind)(Cahn, Steven M. 42). There has also been a steady rise in the number of people practicing yoga, pranayama and meditation in order to train and align their body with the unconscious with the intention of going in (or searching inside) to receive the elixir of true knowledge.

This along with Buddhist philosophy of bhāvanā/ jhāna can be connected to transcendentalism, in the sense that people, men and women equally, have knowledge about themselves and the world around them that "transcends'' or goes beyond what they can see, hear, taste, touch or feel and having had a personal idea of god that can be reached without the need to adhere to institutions. Socrates’ belief in the idea of reaching true wisdom and virtue through contemplation as well as opposition to materialism is echoed in this philosophy.

People also experiment with psychedelic drugs (DMT and LSD) that are known to have hallucinogenic effects to enter into altered states to induce a shift in perspective. It is believed they help establish new channels in the consciousness to interact with the world so as to get a glimpse behind the veil so to speak, in pursuit of the spiritual knowledge.

Surrealist artists such as Remedios Varo and Lenora Carrington's thought provoking work has become a medium to explain aspects of active imagination, hermetic philosophy, western esotericism and widely used by depth-psychologists to supplement the understanding of archetypal images during dream interpretation as well as in the study of collective consciousness.

Artists such as Tool and Audioslave9 along with other heavy metal, grunge and rock bands have been writing and composing songs on metaphysical subjects, played out on trace like music as a medium to express their psychical quest and of those who resonate with them.

Movies like The Darjeeling Limited10 underline the obsession with the spiritual journey and how the world (west) perceive it and view the East or Eastern philosophy as an escape or solution to the fatigue, confusion and chaos of their life. A twisted form of elitist escapist practice of spirituality is rising which is increasingly self-centred, apathetic and capitalistic in nature- threatening the purity of intent that is essential to undertake the actual practice. 

1.Kahn, Steven M., editor. Classics of Western Philosophy. Eighth ed., Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2012.

2. Gordon, Colin, editor. Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977 Michael Foucault. Pantheon Books, New York, 1980.

3.Howatson, M. C., editor. Plato: The Symposium. Cambridge University Press, 2008.

4.Smith, Stephen. “100 Bible Verses about wisdom and knowledge.” Openbible.info, 4 April 2021, https://www.openbible.info/top... . Accessed 5 April 2021.

5. Móró, Levente et al. “Voice of the psychonauts: coping, life purpose, and spirituality in psychedelic drug users.” Journal of psychoactive drugs vol. 43,3 (2011): 188-98. doi:10.1080/02791072.2011.605661

6. Folitico, Livia. “The Esoteric in Contemporary Art.” Vastari, 26 September 2014, https://blog.vastari.com/the-e... . Accessed 5 April 2021.

7. Dickson, John. “Heavy Metal: An Unlikely Spirituality?” Theology, vol. 100, no. 797, Sept. 1997, pp. 323–330, doi:10.1177/0040571X9710000502.

8 .Jennings, Jackie. “Darjeeling Limited attempts quiet spirituality.” The John Hopkins News-Letter, 10 October 2007,

https://www.jhunewsletter.com/... /. Accessed 5 April 2021.