Would you rather be happy or wise?

[Question]

I would rather be wise.

[Miharuka]

I would rather be happy.
I am not very wise I've got to say, but that's not important to me as long I'm happy.
I'd rather be happy and not so wise than that I would be wise and sad.

[Noah]

For some reason, a bunch of people on here already tend to believe I'm "naive" and "innocent" and that my life is nothing but sunshine. =/

Regardless, who says wisdom leads to sadness? Who says ignorance leads to happiness? Certainly people who are better educated and exercise more independent thought are more contemplative or might get more angry or worried over some certain things (but that's part of the Real Life experience). It makes life richer. Being happy all the time is NOT natural. Life needs its ups and downs. You need downs to appreciate the ups. Besides, without those independent thinkers our society would not have progressed as far as it has. Just some food for thought.

[Azdgari]

[quote="Noah"]For some reason, a bunch of people on here already tend to believe I'm "naive" and "innocent" and that my life is nothing but sunshine. =/
[/quote]
That's just cause' yer' so darn cheery, Noah! I think we appreciate your brand of sunshine. ;3

[Arani]

For some people, being wise makes them happy, and that's the kind of person I am, so I am gonna say: I PICK BOTH!

Umadbro?

[Regulus]

[quote="Noah"]For some reason, a bunch of people on here already tend to believe I'm "naive" and "innocent" and that my life is nothing but sunshine. =/[/quote]

Who thinks that? XD

I've tried classifying people before, but I gave up on that a long time ago. It's very difficult to do, because descriptions such as naive and innocent are absolute black and white terms. In the real world, there's shades of gray (or, dare I say about 16.7 million colors).

[quote="Noah"]Certainly people who are better educated and exercise more independent thought are more contemplative or might get more angry or worried over some certain things (but that's part of the Real Life experience). It makes life richer. Being happy all the time is NOT natural. Life needs its ups and downs. You need downs to appreciate the ups.[/quote]

Finally, someone understands! I've been saying that for years (no, really), but nobody seems to listen.

[quote="Arani"]For some people, being wise makes them happy, and that's the kind of person I am, so I am gonna say: I PICK BOTH!

Umadbro? [/quote]

I kinda agree with this. The two categories are definitely not mutually exclusive.

But, if I had to choose, I really don't know. So, I'm going to end this post with the same thought that I began it with. Choosing between wisdom and happiness isn't actually possible. If you ask me today, when I'm filing taxes, or after I watch Forrest Gump, my response is going to be totally different.

Without consistency, classification is impossible. Except for maybe classifying it as inconsistent.

[Azdgari]

Mmm. In retrospect this topic is sort of hard to tackle unless you consider it lightly. I think it stemmed from my realization that rather than worry myself about how screwed up the world is, I sort of just wanted to live my life, doing work that I like, raising a family I love... and just kind of doing my own thing. Happy but (metaphorically) ignorant of the problems around me. I wanted to see what people thought of that in moral terms. Since then I've come to realize that it's all about finding a balance between those two extremes, but I still think it's an interesting question if you were forced to choose. ;3

[NalaKiaraTani]

wisdom

Proverbs 14:6

King James Version (KJV)


A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.

In other words you can be happier than you can shake a stick at, but it takes real talent to maintain wisdom.

[KopsTheTerminator]

[quote="NalaKiaraTani"]wisdom

Proverbs 14:6

King James Version (KJV)


A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.

In other words you can be happier than you can shake a stick at, but it takes real talent to maintain wisdom.[/quote]

???

http://scripturetext.com/ecclesiastes/1-18.htm

Ecclesiastes 1:18

King James Bible
"For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow."

[FlipMode]

[quote="Azdgari"] Since then I've come to realize that it's all about finding a balance between those two extremes, but I still think it's an interesting question if you were forced to choose. ;3[/quote]

Course, humans are selfish like that and can not choose between one thing or another when it comes to self gain.
So in a world where Az forces me to choose, I choose wisdom... With that wisdom come the knowledge of how to truly be happy. And I am not trolling when I say that, because what is happiness? No one really knows, it is an emotion and despite all our researches in the human mind, we still do not know what emotions truly are, or what they mean. But I do know I feel happier when I make a good decision, so being wise would probably be a key to achieving happiness any way.

I think the problem you found where we are trying to "find a balance between the two" is there because one can not exist without the other.