What is it about?
The paper discusses what philosophers and behavioral scientists think wisdom is, and how one can improve one's wisdom. Wise judgment involves being open-minded and humble about one's knowledge. Many people view wisdom is a "thing," assuming that it's stable and does not vary across situations. In contrast, studies indicate that wisdom varies a great deal across cultures, situations, and over time. Simple shifts in ways one think about a situation can either enhance or diminish one's wisdom. People are wiser in the presence of others as compared to when they are on their own, or when thinking about a situation from a third-person (rather than first-person) perspective.
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Why is it important?
Wisdom is the pan-ultimate intellectual virtue -- a cherished quality of great interest solving interpersonal and political issues, be a good leader, judge, or decision-maker. Unfortunately, most people are wrong in their beliefs about how to obtain wisdom, ignoring the power of the situation.
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I hope this article will help people clarify some of their misconceptions about wisdom and help people to see how it can be accurately measured and cultivated.
Professor Igor Grossmann
University of Waterloo
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Wisdom and How to Cultivate It, European Psychologist, October 2017, Hogrefe Publishing Group,
DOI: 10.1027/1016-9040/a000302.
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