Is Wisdom Something Common and Universally Available?

It's been said that a person's wisdom increases over time; the older you are the more wisdom you possess. However, do we really know what kind of wisdom we supposedly attain. For those who know the answer to this I have another thought to put in your head. If people truly gain wisdom as they age, then is wisdom just a term for intelligence or is it something common and universally available?

If you are familiar with Aristotle he speaks of two virtues that relate to the idea of wisdom. The first being wisdom, itself, and the second one being phronesis. Even though these two terms may seem to be the same, you could distinguish the two simply by looking at your own life and finding examples. A person's wisdom may be increased within their lifetime by experiences that they have knowledge of, such as, their knowledge on a certain subject. A botanist may have wisdom on the subject of plant life, as long as they have the knowledge and they comprehend it. The botanist may increase their wisdom by continuing to read and educate themselves about plants. When it comes to the virtue of phronesis, the focus is more concentrated on social interactions and the experiences that come along with it. In the case of the botanist, phronesis would be best observed between how they interact with those they work along side and how rational they can be during these interactions.

Now that we have a better insight on wisdom we can sort out if wisdom is solely intelligence, or is it more common and available than most people would probably acknowledge. If we base our conclusion on the theories of Aristotle then we might all agree that it involves knowledge, or intelligence, and it can be achieved universally by a person's experiences: theoretically and practically.

LaTericka Hudson