Fear is the beginning of wisdom?
 

I'm not quite sure I understand this statement found in the bible. Wouldn't understanding make more sense than fear when it comes to wisdom? For fear leads to ignorance and hate.

and the dark side?

What's the reference (book, verse)? I'm intrigued...

Thanks.

<a href="http://www.newadvent.org/summa/301907.htm" target="_blank">relavent link</a> (pops)

i would venture to say that wisdom is, in fact, often the beginning of fear.

we have to first know about something before we can be afraid of it. we very well can't be afraid of someone who is holding a gun to our head if we don't know what the gun itself is capable of. well, that is misleading, as we can be afraid of the intent of the person holding the gun, or what they may be saying, or their supporting actions, etc. but all of those also require wisdom to be able to understand that your well being is in jeopardy and that the situation warrants fear.

perhaps the logic is reversible?

"Fear is the mindkiller. Face your fear and let it pass through you."

I think the full quote is actually, "To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom." -- Bertrand Russell

I agree that wisdom can be the beginning of fear, as ignorance is bliss.

I've never heard this quote before but when I read the title (not knowing it was biblical in nature) I agreed that wisdom does indeed start wtih fear. You can see this in children growing up. This doesn't mean that wisdom ends with fear.

Fear is the beggining of wisdom as i understand it comes from the teachings of Don Juan (american indian fella) as written in the books by Carlos Castaneda. Fear is the first of our four natural enemies, the second is clarity - you only get this once you have overcome fear then if you defeat clarity you get power, and thats a tough one to beat but not as bad as the final enemy Old age (can't beat that so our quest for knowledge, widom whatever will eventually end). It does make sense if you sit down and read it through properly http://www.prismagems.com/castaneda/donjuan1.html

Of course, the full quote is "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom in their ignorance", which I read as "We must first respect the Lord, or our 'wisdom' is really foolishness".

of course theres that quote too

Well, since he was talking about "that statement from the Bible", it seemed appropriate.

It was, more appropriate than mine, perhaps we should let this thread die now

Ignorance and fear are better associated than wisdom and fear.

Fearing the lion is a good first step.

depends what you understand wisdom to be, doesnt it?
anyone want to try to sort that out?
it appears that everyone posts as if we are agreed on what we are talking about.
but i for one do not know what wisdom means.
given that this is supposed to be a philosophy forum, even in its barnes-and-noble variant, definition problems seem germaine.....

I'd say fear is our condition and wisdom is our attempt to alleviate it.

No, respecting a lion is a good first step. Fear should only come into play if the lion decides to attack you, and your only chance of survival is reliance upon your physical abilities, in which case the stimulation of your sympathetic nervous system would be an asset.

Yea, another asset would be a gun .