Wisdom vs. Intellectualism

Monica and I had a conversation today where she brought up the difference between wisdom and intellectualism. She seemed to have the difference clear in her mind and explained it to me very insightfully. Then she asked me what I thought the difference was and I didn’t have a convincing answer, so I decided to do some research.

Intellectualism= “involving intelligence rather than emotions or instinct” (online Princeton dictionary)
Wisdom= “accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment” or “having gained understanding, experience, discretion, and intuitive understanding, along with the capacity to apply these”

It is interesting to see the definitions of these terms. The world’s dictionaries tell us that the difference between intellectualism and wisdom is feeling. The definitions for intellectualism include words like ‘intellect’, ‘analytical’, and ‘cerebral’. While the definitions for wisdom include ‘enlightenment’, ‘experience’, ‘intuition’, and ‘sensible’. Wisdom seems to encompass intellectualism, but not the other way around. Wisdom seems to go a step beyond intellectualism by allowing feeling and emotion to help us in our quest for truth. One who is strictly intellectual goes by reason alone, only what the brain can comprehend is accepted. Whereas one who is wise uses reason, but balances it with truths he has come to accept by feeling, or enlightenment. These truths he may not be able to prove, but he knows they are true just as certainly (if not more) as the intellectual.

2 Nephi 2:28-29 says:

“O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.

“But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.”

I would say that ‘learned’ in this scripture is equivalent to our word ‘intellectual’. Let us start with verse 29. It clearly states here that it is not in itself a bad thing to be intellectual, as long as you hearken unto the counsels of God. Or in other words, if you are wise first and intellectual second. Intellectualism without wisdom is dangerous. In verse 28 it says that those who are intellectual often think they are wise and those people hearken not unto the counsel of God. Why? Why is it natural for an intellectual to hearken not unto the counsel of God? I think this is so because an intellectual is so masterful at reasoning and logic, that he can rationalize any behavior away if he thinks about it long enough. His reasoning and logic, without the balance of feeling and emotion leads him astray.

I found an interesting talk by Bishop Glenn L. Pace from the May Conference in 1989. He said (italics added) :

“One activity which often leads a member to be critical is engaging in inappropriate intellectualism. While it would seem the search for and discovery of truth should be the goal of all Latter-day Saints, it appears some get more satisfaction from trying to discover new uncertainties. I have friends who have literally spent their lives, thus far, trying to nail down every single intellectual loose end rather than accepting the witness of the Spirit and getting on with it. In so doing, they are depriving themselves of a gold mine of beautiful truths which cannot be tapped by the mind alone.

"Elder Faust describes this type of intellectual as “a person who continues to chase after a bus even after he has caught it.” We invite everyone to get on the bus before it’s out of sight and you are left forever trying to figure out the infinite with a finite mind. In the words of Elijah, “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him.” (1 Kgs. 18:21.)”

I love that quote. He said we should accept the witness of the Spirit and get on with it! That is awesome. And I love the scripture from 1 Kings: “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him.” I think Bishop Pace summed it up nicely with this quote: “In so doing, they are depriving themselves of a gold mine of beautiful truths which cannot be tapped by the mind alone.” In our search for knowledge, let us not rely on our reason alone, but let us feel and experience truth through our emotions being led by the Spirit of God. Only then will the truth set us free.