Fresno philosophy professor advises us to seek wisdom, maturity in 2026 | Opinion
A good life requires a sustained pursuit of wisdom. Wisdom begins with self-knowledge. We also need to understand the world and the way things work. Unfortunately, we can get lost in illusion or become beguiled by bull. It is easy to fall prey to wishful thinking, conspiracy theories and other malarkey.
The popular “six-seven” meme provides an example: This juvenile joke doesn’t really mean anything. “Six-seven” is contagious, playful nonsense. This fad exists on a continuum with fake news, conspiracy theories, political extremism and religious fundamentalism.
Ideas and images sweep across our consciousness. Some are meaningless, others are pernicious. Truth and value are often less important than amusing gibberish. Strange ideas catch fire, appetites are stimulated by advertising and propaganda and wisdom can be ravaged by passion.
Sometimes this is amusing. When kids giggle at “six-seven” it can be cute and joyful. But when a culture is swamped by malignant memes and virulent hogwash — including racism, violence and anti-scientific falsehood — things can fall apart.
Ancient wisdom provides a cure for this kind of cultural malaise. “Know thyself,” the ancient Greeks intoned, and “nothing in excess.” We should ask ourselves who we are, what we value and what we know. We should also avoid greed, gluttony and other immoderate appetites.
The sins and vices of appetite are dangerous. Greed and lust can be destructive, but the Greek philosophers claimed that ignorance was the primary source of evil. It is not desire that leads to evil, but, rather, undisciplined and unlimited desire.
When Socrates says the “unexamined life is not worth living” he reminds us that self-knowledge is the key to living well. Human beings thrive when we understand the nature of happiness, including the need for virtue and self-restraint.
Let’s face it, stupidity can be fun. From time to time, we all enjoy mindless entertainment, crude jokes and silly memes. But stupidity and vulgarity are childish. Joyful fools cannot produce science, pilot airplanes, perform surgery or run a government. Nor will childish folly lead to justice or lasting happiness.
Maturity requires that we grow out of childishness. We ought to examine our lives and resolve to do better. This does not mean that we can’t be light and joyful. But we must integrate joy and play into the larger whole of life.
Wisdom begins with an honest appraisal of how we’ve failed and how we’ve grown. Self-criticism is aimed at improvement. With regard to failures and regrets, there is also some wisdom in forgetting, but wise forgetting is different from childish denial. We need to learn in order to do better.
Failure should not be an anchor, but it can be a building block and even a slingshot.
In a sense, the world begins again every morning. Each day is an opportunity to grow wiser and do better. But our lives will not improve unless we choose to make them better. And they won’t improve if we wallow in malarkey.
Nor can we improve if we drown in denial or delusion. Some unwise souls blame everything on someone else. Or they put lipstick on a pig, insisting that everything is great. It is tempting to duck responsibility or to pretend that you are already wise and virtuous, but this is merely another form of ignorance.
The turn of the new year is an opportunity to take stock of what we value, to let go of bad habits and to begin again. The process of reviewing, releasing and renewing is essential for living well.
May you find wisdom in the new year, along with a few (maybe six or seven…) moments of clarity, inspiration and joy.
Andrew Fiala is a professor of philosophy and director of The Ethics Center at Fresno State
This story was originally published December 28, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Fresno philosophy professor advises us to seek wisdom, maturity in 2026 | Opinion."