Mon 14 Apr 2008
Smart Spanish I
Posted by Andrew Blanco under International, Philosophy
Smart Spanish is a series of posts where I will teach you how to sound smart in Spanish. This is useful as you never know when you will find yourself in the land of Toledo.
“Si es el Conocimiento la Potencia, y la Sabiduría es el Conocimiento de cómo utilizar con eficacia Potencia, entonces la Sabiduría es la Potencia de utilizar Potencia. Es decir, la Sabiduría es Conocimniento ajustada.” (anonimo)
Translation
“If Knowledge is Power, and Wisdom is the Knowledge of how to effectively use Power, then Wisdom is the Power to use Power. In other words, Wisdom is Knowledge squared.” (anonymous)
About the Author
April 14th, 2008 at 2:23 am
I have a choice here sir. I will be nice.
I like the idea however if one is wise then power would not corrupt and certainly absolute power would not corrupt absolutely.
So we have a clash of philosophies. Care to elaborate on how your thoughts of wisdom apply to the old philosophy of the power of power to corrupt and how the knowledge of using power would keep oneself safe from corruption?
April 14th, 2008 at 2:39 am
I bet Link, Princess Zelda, and Gannon could have an interesting conversation about this.
April 14th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Before first, good point Jim.
First, I found this quote in a van down by the river.
Second, before we get into this with any depth explain why you think wisdom necessarily means one wouldn’t abuse power?
April 14th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Hahaha, hey Andrew, I think it would have been far funny to say gotten from a van down by the river instead of anonymous. I don’t know why, but that really made me laugh.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:25 am
I am using your wording of using power effectively and expanding the definition of effectively to include not abusing said power. But nice try.
So essentially I am looking for further clarification as to ow that exactly works in your mind.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
What it means to be effective is relative and depends on what value each person (or culture) places on particular actions.
So if you choose to include not abusing power in your definition of effective use of power, more power to you. Thats your choice.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Your are not getting off the hook that easily sir.
With out further explanation on how you view effective use of power than your quote has no depth or direction for one to derive meaning from.
You must back your point up with our philosophical view on the subject less people think you thought it sounded cool but have no idea what you are talking about.
Let me put my question another way.
How do you apply wisdom being an effective use of power to power corrupting and absolute power corrupting absolutely?
April 14th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
You must back your point up with your philosophical view…. missed a typo
April 14th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
According to my own philosophical view of reality:
The phrase “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” is nothing but an opinion. Thats not to say that there isn’t truth to it. There’s some truth to every opinion. But opinions are relative, not absolute. So your question is rather pointless according to my philosophical view on things.
In my view Wisdom truly is a relative phenomenon based on one’s accumulated experience from birth to death. The information, the data we learn about life is Knowledge, but the experience of putting that knowledge into action is Wisdom. How one chooses to put one’s knowledge into action is absolutely dependent on one’s life experiences, which themselves are relative.
So because everyone’s life experiences are unique and relative, so then will knowledge and wisdom be relative, and so then we must allow for the possibility that at some point somewhere in the vastness of the universe there will be a being who does not abuse power. Mind you, maybe even the possibility of many, if not an entire group of beings.
And if you respond with the statement “humans can’t help but be corrupted by power”, I’ll say well maybe you are right, but that statement is “species specific”, and it is prejudiced to assume that there may not be a more advanced being somewhere who defies the limitations of human ethics and morality and decision making which are all based on the current evolution of our brains.
But I only believe all this because I absolutely do not believe in any absolutes outside of the law of the conservation of energy.
In other words, relativity is the only absolute.
April 14th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Well put Andrew.
April 14th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I am impressed sir.
April 14th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Gracias hombre! Este ejercicio en filosofia fue muy agradable. Pero ahora yo tengo hambra y no es sorpresa que yo quierro taco bell.
April 14th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Now you’re just trying to show off.
April 27th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Hello Andrew….Good looking spot. and an interesting post for me as indeed I live in Old Mexico, in the State of B.C.S. I have been trying to pound Spanish into my head for the past three years. It just seems to go in one ear and out the other. I get by fairly well however as I have strong paralinguistic and gesticular skills.
I am an ESL teacher, am frequently in front of groups of students to whom English is not their first language, and, you’re right. A few well spoken words will convince anyone that you know and understand much more than you really do.
I see however that your post was not so much about the Spanish part of it but rather something more subtle and intelligent. BUT…Voy a aprender esa frase, y para ver la siguiente cuota.
Hasta la bye-bye.
April 27th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Gracias amigo! Its nice to have some Rusty Lime writers checkin out Babeled, as you guys have an awesome thing going over there.
Mexico, huh? What’s it like over there?
Personally, I find part of the problem with learning Spanish, or I guess any language, is that the dialects vary by region. Mind you even the speed at which certain cultures speak their language can throw your learning right out the window.