The Seven Pillars of the House of Wisdom

Abstract

In the Proverbs, Solomon tells that the House of Wisdom has seven pillars. According to ancient and medieval thinkers, these pillars are the seven dispositions that a person must have to become wiser. Besides this direct interpretation of the pillars, we can also find them used as allegorical symbols. For instance, the pillars can represent the foundational principles of a given discipline. And also, in the academies, the seven pillars of wisdom manifest themselves in the seven liberal arts, which had their origin in the thinking skills outlined by Plato in his Republic. Here, we propose a discussion on the pillars of the house of wisdom, from the book of James to the contemporary literature.

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DOI

10.5281/zenodo.3374189

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