Foolishness

Last updated
Stultitia by Giotto--from his fresco of seven virtues and their opposite vices in the Scrovegni Chapel. Stultitia (folly) was shown as the opposite of Prudentia (prudence). Giotto- The Seven Vices - Foolishness.JPG
Stultitia by Giotto—from his fresco of seven virtues and their opposite vices in the Scrovegni Chapel. Stultitia (folly) was shown as the opposite of Prudentia (prudence).

Foolishness is the inability or failure to act following reason due to lack of judgment, stupidity, stubbornness, etc. [1] The things such as impulsivity and/or influences may affect a person's ability to make reasonable decisions.[ citation needed ] Other reasons of apparent foolishness include naivety, gullibility, and credulity. Foolishness differs from stupidity, which is the lack of intelligence. [2] An act of foolishness is called folly. A person who is foolish is called a fool. The opposite of foolishness is prudence. [3]

Contents

Concept

Andreas Maercker in 1995 defined foolishness as rigid, dogmatic, and inflexible thinking which makes feelings of bitterness and probable annoyance. It is considered the foundation of illusions of grandiosity like omniscience, omnipotence and inviolability.[ citation needed ]

Several proverbs from the Book of Proverbs characterize traits of foolishness. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Book of Proverbs is a book in the third section of the Hebrew Bible traditionally ascribed to King Solomon and his students later appearing in the Christian Old Testament. When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms: in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) it became Παροιμίαι ; in the Latin Vulgate the title was Proverbia, from which the English name is derived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisdom</span> Ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight

Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act productively using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, self-transcendence, and non-attachment, and virtues such as ethics and benevolence.

Fool, The Fool, or Fools may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foolishness for Christ</span> Flouting social norms for religious purposes

Foolishness for Christ refers to behavior such as giving up all one's worldly possessions upon joining an ascetic order or religious life, or deliberately flouting society's conventions to serve a religious purpose—particularly of Christianity. Such individuals have historically been known as both "holy fools" and "blessed fools". The term "fool" connotes what is perceived as feeblemindedness, and "blessed" or "holy" refers to innocence in the eyes of God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wise Men of Gotham</span> Folklore about the people of Gotham, Nottinghamshire

Wise Men of Gotham is the early name given to the people of the village of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, in allusion to an incident where they supposedly feigned idiocy to avoid a Royal visit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlo M. Cipolla</span> Italian economic historian (1922–2000)

Carlo M. Cipolla was an Italian economic historian. He was a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

<i>Netherlandish Proverbs</i> Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Netherlandish Proverbs is a 1559 oil-on-oak-panel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder that depicts a scene in which humans and, to a lesser extent, animals and objects, offer literal illustrations of Dutch-language proverbs and idioms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stupidity</span> Lack of intelligence

Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, or wit, an inability to learn. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word stupid comes from the Latin word stupere. Stupid characters are often used for comedy in fictional stories. Walter B. Pitkin called stupidity "evil", but in a more Romantic spirit William Blake and Carl Jung believed stupidity can be the mother of wisdom.

In folklore, a simpleton is a person whose foolish actions are the subject of often-repeated stories. Simpletons are also known as noodles or fools. Folklore often holds, with no basis in fact, that certain towns or countries are thought to be home to large numbers of simpletons. The ancient Greeks told tales of stupid populations in Abdera and other cities; in Germany, men of Schilda are conspicuous in these stories; in Spain hundreds of jokes exist about the supposed foolishness of the people from Lepe; and in England, the village of Gotham in Nottinghamshire is reputed to be populated by simpletons. In Sri Lanka whole districts in the central, southern, and western provinces are credited with being the abode of foolish people.

"As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly" is an aphorism which appears in the Book of Proverbs in the Bible — Proverbs 26:11, also partially quoted in the New Testament, 2 Peter 2:22. It means that fools are stubbornly inflexible and this is illustrated with the repulsive simile of the dog that eats its vomit again, even though this may be poisonous. Dogs were considered unclean in Biblical times as they were commonly scavengers of the dead and they appear in the Bible as repugnant creatures, symbolising evil. The reference to vomit indicates excessive indulgence and so also symbolises revulsion.

Baka means "fool", or "foolish" and is the most frequently used pejorative term in the Japanese language. The word baka has a long history, an uncertain etymology, and linguistic complexities.

Credulity is a person's willingness or ability to believe that a statement is true, especially on minimal or uncertain evidence. Credulity is not necessarily a belief in something that may be false: the subject of the belief may even be correct, but a credulous person will believe it without good evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fool (stock character)</span> Stock character in creative works

The fool is a stock character in creative works and folklore. There are several distinct, although overlapping, categories of fool: simpleton fool, wise fool, and serendipitous fool.

<i>Stupidity</i> (film) 2003 Canadian film

Stupidity is a 2003 Canadian satirical documentary film directed by Albert Nerenberg and produced by Shannon Brown, as the first film commissioned by the Documentary Channel. Nerenberg was also the film's executive producer. The film proposes that willful ignorance has increasingly become a strategy for success in the realms of politics and entertainment, that is, the "stupid" things that seemingly smart people do every day. The film questions "why stupidity is such a slippery concept to grasp and why so few people are talking about it." The film features songs by The Arrogant Worms and original music by The Morons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural references to donkeys</span> Donkeys as depicted in culture

There are many cultural references to donkeys, in myth, folklore and religion, in language and in literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proverbs 9</span>

Proverbs 9 is the ninth chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably obtained its final shape in the post-exilic period. This chapter is a part of the first collection of the book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proverbs 20</span>

Proverbs 20 is the twentieth chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably obtained its final shape in the post-exilic period. This chapter is a part of the second collection of the book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proverbs 19</span>

Proverbs 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably obtained its final shape in the post-exilic period. This chapter is a part of the second collection of the book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proverbs 17</span>

Proverbs 17 is the seventeenth chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably obtained its final shape in the post-exilic period. This chapter is a part of the second collection of the book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proverbs 12</span>

Proverbs 12 is the twelfth chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably obtained its final shape in the post-exilic period. This chapter is a part of the second collection of the book.

References

  1. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
  2. Robert J. Sternberg (2003), "Smart People Are Not Stupid, But They Sure Can Be Foolish", Why Smart People Can Be So Stupid, Yale University Press, pp. 232 et seq, ISBN   9780300101706
  3. Nathan Rosenstreich, "Prudence and Folly", American Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 22, issue 2, 1985, JSTOR   20014085, p. 93.
  4. Eldon Woodcock, Proverbs: A Topical Study, p. 20 ISBN   9781579108182