The evolution of wisdom
No one thinks alone. Pick a question and follow it forward: the text that asked it first, the traditions that reached for it again centuries later and half a world away, and the people answering it now.
Faith
“What do you believe in that you cannot prove? How did you come to it, and what does it ask of you?”
Belief, doubt, and what we lean on when things are hard.
- ~10th c. BCE – 1st c. CE
Hebrew & Christian Bible
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Psalms, the Sermon on the Mount, and the parables. Foundational to Western moral language.
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”
Job's declaration of defiant faith even as he believes God may destroy him.
“Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Job's response upon receiving news that he has lost all his children and wealth in a single day.
- ~8th c. BCE – 4th c. CE
Hinduism
Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads — dialogues on duty, action, and self.
“And, Prince! by faith Which wanders not, there is a way to come Thither.”
Krishna states that unwavering, undistracted faith is the specific vehicle by which a person may reach the highest, imperishable reality.
↓ Reached for again — Buddhism, ~5th c. BCE onward47% resonance“Stop the stream valiantly, drive away the desires, O Brahmana! When you have understood the destruction of all that was made, you will understand that which was not made.”
“But whereso any doeth all his deeds Renouncing self for Me, full of Me, fixed To serve only the Highest, night and day Musing on Me--him will I swiftly lift Forth from life's ocean of distress and death, Whose soul clings fast to Me.”
Krishna explains how total devotion and self-renunciation lifts a person out of suffering.
↓ Reached for again — Buddhism, ~5th c. BCE onward51% resonance“Leaving all pleasures behind, and calling nothing his own, the wise man should purge himself from all the troubles of the mind.”
- ~6th – 4th c. BCE
Taoism
Tao Te Ching, attributed to Laozi — terse, paradoxical aphorisms on living with the grain of things.
“In the Way of Heaven, there is no partiality of love; it is always on the side of the good man.”
Laozi concludes a passage about resolving disputes and keeping one's word with this principle about cosmic justice.
“Bad men it guards, and doth their ill efface. (Its) admirable words can purchase honour; (its) admirable deeds can raise their performer above others. Even men who are not good are not abandoned by it.”
On the universal reach of the Tao — it does not withhold itself even from those who have done wrong.
- ~5th c. BCE onward
Buddhism
Dhammapada and selected sutras — terse, principle-rich verses on suffering, attachment, and right action.
“"One is the road that leads to wealth, another the road that leads to Nirvana;" if the Bhikshu, the disciple of Buddha, has learnt this, he will not yearn for honour, he will strive after separation from the world.”
A Bhikshu is a Buddhist monk; Nirvana here means liberation from suffering and desire.
“He who, though dressed in fine apparel, exercises tranquillity, is quiet, subdued, restrained, chaste, and has ceased to find fault with all other beings, he indeed is a Brahmana, an ascetic (sramana), a friar (bhikshu).”
The Buddha teaches that true spiritual standing comes from inner conduct, not outward appearance or rank.
- ~5th c. BCE
Confucianism
Analects of Confucius — sayings on conduct, governance, and moral cultivation.
“He who offends against Heaven has none to whom he can pray.”
Confucius responds to a question about which powers are worth cultivating favor with, asserting that Heaven is the ultimate authority.
↓ Reached for again — Qur’an, 7th c. CE50% resonance“And the Heaven, He hath reared it on high, and hath appointed the balance; That in the balance ye should not transgress. Weigh therefore with fairness, and scant not the balance.”
“If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have got such a relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the people of K'wang do to me?”
Confucius speaks to his disciples while surrounded by hostile people in the town of K'wang, expressing calm confidence in his mission.
- 3rd c. BCE – 2nd c. CE
Stoicism
Greco-Roman school of practical philosophy on virtue, agency, and acceptance. Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Seneca.
“Either there is a God, and then all is well; or if all things go by chance and fortune, yet mayest thou use thine own providence in those things that concern thee properly; and then art thou well.”
↓ Reached for again — Qur’an, 7th c. CE51% resonance“And no one thing is there, but with Us are its storehouses; and We send it not down but in settled measure.”
“One prayeth that he may compass his desire, to lie with such or such a one, pray thou that thou mayst not lust to lie with her. Another how he may be rid of such a one; pray thou that thou mayst so patiently bear with him, as that thou have no such need to be rid of him. Another, that he may not lose his child. Pray th…”
Aurelius argues that prayer should seek the transformation of one's desires and fears, not the obtaining or avoiding of external things.
↓ Reached for again — Qur’an, 7th c. CE51% resonance“And who say, 'O our Lord! give us in our wives and offspring the joy of our eyes, and make us examples to those who fear thee.'”
- ~3rd c. CE
Rabbinic Judaism
Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) — concise principles for living, distilled from the early rabbinic period.
“When you pray, do not make your prayer something automatic, but a plea for compassion before God.”
Rabbi Yose teaches that sincere intention is what gives prayer its meaning.
↓ Reached for again — Qur’an, 7th c. CE45% resonance“Woe to those who pray, But in their prayer are careless; Who make a shew of devotion, But refuse help to the needy.”
“Everything is foreseen yet freedom of choice is granted, And the world is judged with goodness; And everything is in accordance with the preponderance of works.”
Rabbi Akiva's paradoxical statement holding together divine foreknowledge and human moral responsibility.
↓ Reached for again — Qur’an, 7th c. CE51% resonance“To him who shall present himself with good works, shall be a reward beyond their desert, and they shall be secure from the terror on that day; And they who shall present themselves with evil shall be flung downward on th…”
- 7th c. CE
Qur’an
Central scripture of Islam. Ethical teachings, parables, and prophetic narratives.
“We created man: and we know what his soul whispereth to him, and we are closer to him than his neck-vein.”
God speaks of the intimate divine knowledge of each human being.
“This is what ye have been promised: to every one who hath turned in penitence to God and kept his laws; Who hath feared the God of Mercy in secret, and come to him with a contrite heart: Enter it in peace: this is the day of Eternity.”
The qualities that earn entry into Paradise are named: penitence, obedience, private reverence, and a humble heart.
- Now
Living voices
The same question, answered by people who are still working it out.
Nobody has added to this thread yet. It could be you.