The following is Andrew Miller's Quote du Jour and his reflections on it. After reading and considering these, add your own comments, reflecting good critical thinking. Don't be afraid to think outside the box, questioning and testing to see if it is right and how it applies to you personally.
“Integrity without
knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and
dreadful.” Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
Definition
- Integrity means honesty.
About the Author
• Born
September 18th 1709, Lichfield, Staffordshire, England
• Samuel
Johnson was an English Poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer,
editor, and lexicographer( craft of writing and editing dictionaries).
• Samuel
Johnson has been described and “ arguably the most distinguished man of letters
in English history.”
Meaning for Me
• To
me this quote is very true in the sense that having a strong moral character
relies on multiple traits to act with each other. What Samuel Johnson meant by
“integrity without knowledge” is that you can be honest, but still make the
wrong decisions. Samuel Johnson also states that “knowledge without integrity
is dangerous and dreadful.” by this Samuel Johnson means that having knowledge
without the right intentions can be a weapon when used to do bad things.
Johnson's observation is very astute. I can easily imagine someone who has plenty of knowledge but no integrity, and someone with integrity but who has no knowledge. Each is incomplete and can be taken advantage of. I also think that the same idea is true of other virtues. One could have courage without having good judgment, and one could have good judgment without having any courage. Both are necessary for a complete person. This led the philosopher Aristotle to believe that all virtues are necessary in the good person, that they complement each other. He called it the "unity of virtues."
ReplyDeleteI feel like this quote is a lot like Duncan's quote. You need to learn how to have a balence of both. If you are too far to one side than its a bad thing. One without the other doesn't have the best outcome.
ReplyDeleteIf you have good moral principles but you are not smart, that doesn't help. You can't really do anything with that. A lot of the biggest criminals in the world have been smart, they just didn't have integrity. It is like being a super hero, you have to know when to use your super powers and when not to use it. I have never put it into these words but this is how I try to live my life.
ReplyDeleteIn reflection, it's apparent to me that Johnson wants to show the people around him that they must understand what they say and that they must mean it when they say it. This is a problem, I think, with people these days when they're debating an issue or just plain talking. It's always about who's loudest and who has the most things to say rather than what it should be. It should be something like whoever has the most intelligent and informed thing to say instead--quality over quantity.
ReplyDeleteThis quote makes complete sense. It makes me think, what is more important to have, knowledge or integrity? I can honestly say I do not know which one I would rather have if I had to choose one! In life what is more important to have, what makes one better than the other without having the other completing?
ReplyDeleteIntegrity without knowledge is weak and useless because if you're an honest person who knows nothing, your words/actions have no power or meaning. But if one has knowledge but does not use it honestly, they become very unsafe. I like this quote because it's implying that people should be knowledgable AND honest, because you'll be powerful in a good way and put a positive influence on your surroundings.
ReplyDeleteBoth integrity and knowledge are good things to have, but they are best when accompanied by one another. A person who only has integrity isn't useful because they don't have the knowledge to use it correctly. And like the Joker in Batman, knowledge without any integrity can be extremely dangerous. There must be a balance of the two to make a good, successful person.
ReplyDeleteIntegrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles or just pretty much moral uprightness. What are you without morals and honesty? Basically something useless like the quote is suggesting. You can have knowledge, but without morals and the wanting of virtue and to do right, it is as well useless. Here Samuel Johnson is comparing things such as being ignorant but not caring, being educated but selfish, things like this that you have to have in order to compliment each other, When I looked further into the quote, I discovered that Johnson was talking about education.
ReplyDeleteIntegrity and knowledge are two things that must be paired together for success. When you eliminate one from the other, each thing becomes weak. Knowledge without integrity is dangerous because it can be misused if it is not managed properly. Integrity without knowledge can often lead to someone taking advantage of you. Both of these traits compliment eachother other.
ReplyDeleteI think this quote means that you need to have a balance in your life about all that you do. When you have integrity but no knowledge, you know what the right thing to do things and what the better decision is, but you don't know how to go about accomplishing that task or choice. When you have knowledge and no integrity you know how to accomplish a task, but that task may not be a good decision and harm many people. When you have both integrity and knowledge though, I think nothing can stand in your way. You'll know what the right thing to do is and you'll know exactly how to reach that goal of yours. By creating that balance of virtues a better outcome is made by the person.
ReplyDeleteThis quote means to me that there needs to be a balance in life. I agree that knowledge without a moral compass is dangerous and is what serial killers and villains in movies are. People who have integrity but no knowledge are good people, but they do not accomplish the great things in life. Both situations are bad. The great people have both knowledge and integrity.
ReplyDelete