Adler's Hierarchy: Can You Obtain Wisdom?

Alfred Adler made an interesting, and quite correct, assessment of the goods of the mind, and in their hierarchy. From lowest to highest, he presented these so-called goods of the mind as being information, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. He also correctly asserted that acquiring these goods will result in the perfection of the mind. Given the explosion of availability of information and knowledge during the late 20^th century and the beginning of the 21^st century, it is relatively easy to realize, however, that perfection of the mind is something to be worked toward, not something that is in the realm of probability, as of yet, for man. Yet, it is still in the nature of man to at least make the attempt at the final goal of actually obtaining wisdom.

If we group Adler's goods of the mind into pairs, information and knowledge, and understanding and wisdom, it is easier to see how the value of each may be more easily determined. Information can simply be isolated facts that may or may not even be related. When related bits of information are grouped together, they then become what is referred to as a body of knowledge. Bodies of knowledge, in the past, were considered to be all that man knew of a subject. Without the benefit of modern communication and technology, bodies of knowledge were slow to change. Today, however, the term body of knowledge is usually prefaced with the adjective current. We are well aware that today's body of knowledge about any topic can, and usually does, change in an instant as new bits of information freely flow from the massive amounts of both social and scientific research activity that is going on around the world.

The turning point for man, with respect to how information and knowledge are processed, takes place at the point of understanding. If this step is wrongly made, then this path will not lead on to wisdom. How man interprets a body of knowledge forms the basis for action.