A handbook of wisdom: psychological perspectives

Half-title......Page 2
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
List of Contributors......Page 8
Foreword......Page 12
References......Page 17
part i: Theories of Wisdom Across Time, Culture, and Peoples......Page 20
1 Wisdom in History......Page 22
Ancient History......Page 23
Proverbs 9......Page 25
Eastern Wisdom......Page 26
The Renaissance......Page 28
The Period of Enlightenment......Page 29
Wisdom in the Psychological Sciences......Page 31
Definitions and Concepts of Wisdom......Page 33
The Development of Empirical Studies of Psychology of Wisdom......Page 36
Future Research Directions on Wisdom......Page 44
Summary and Conclusions......Page 46
References......Page 48
2 Cultural Foundations of Wisdom: An Integrated Developmental Approach......Page 51
Historical Accounts of Wisdom......Page 52
Western Conceptualization of Wisdom......Page 53
Eastern Conceptualization of Wisdom......Page 55
Implicit Theories of Wisdom......Page 57
Culturally Inclusive Developmental Model of Wisdom......Page 62
Synthetic/Transformational Moment of Wisdom......Page 65
Synthetic/Integrative Moment of Wisdom......Page 68
Culturally Inclusive Developmental Model of Wisdom: An Empirical Study......Page 70
Conclusion......Page 72
References......Page 73
A Cautionary Preface......Page 80
Wisdom from Homer to Aristotle: The Greek Way......Page 83
Aristotle on Wisdom......Page 85
Scientific Knowledge......Page 90
Theoretical Wisdom (Sophia)......Page 92
Stoicism......Page 93
Intuition and Wisdom......Page 94
A Cautionary Conclusion......Page 100
References......Page 101
4 From the Inside Out: People’s Implicit Theories of Wisdom......Page 103
Definitions: Wisdom, and Implicit Theories of Wisdom......Page 104
Implicit Theories of Wisdom......Page 105
Mental Representation of Implicit Theories......Page 106
History of the Dichotomy......Page 108
The Role of Implicit Theories in Informing Explicit Theories......Page 109
Descriptor-Rating Studies: What Characteristics Are Perceived as Wise?......Page 110
Many Subcomponents: Few Conceptual Categories......Page 114
Do People Think Older Is Wiser?......Page 115
Wisdom Nominees: Who Is Considered Wise?......Page 116
Autobiographical Narratives: Can I Be Wise?......Page 118
Experimental Studies of Implicit Wisdom......Page 119
Summary of Findings: Methodological Differences and Their Effect on Results......Page 121
Individual Differences in Implicit Theories: Age from a Different Angle......Page 122
Peoples Implicit Theories of Wisdom: Summary and Future Directions......Page 124
References......Page 126
5 The Psychology of Wisdom: Theoretical and Empirical Challenges......Page 129
Approaches to a Psychological Definition of Wisdom......Page 131
Explicit Psychological Definitions of Wisdom......Page 133
Historical Background......Page 135
Definition: Wisdom as Expertise in the Fundamental Pragmatics of Life......Page 136
The Development, Structure, and Functions of Wisdom: A Theoretical Model......Page 137
Assessment: The Method of Thinking Aloud about Fundamental Questions of Life......Page 138
Past Empirical Evidence......Page 140
Ongoing Research Program......Page 142
Defining Wisdom: Theoretical Challenges......Page 147
Assessing Wisdom: Empirical Challenges......Page 149
References......Page 150
part ii: The Development of Wisdom Across the Lifespan......Page 156
Theoretical Perspectives on Wisdom......Page 158
Adolescents Are Growing Wiser: Indirect Evidence......Page 160
Basic Personality and Self-Development during Adolescence......Page 163
The “Interface” of Cognition and Personality......Page 165
Autobiographical Experiences: Privileged Encoding During Adolescence and Young Adulthood......Page 168
Direct Empirical Evidence of Wisdom-Related Knowledge in Adolescence......Page 169
Summary and Implications......Page 171
References......Page 173
7 The Quest for Wisdom in Adulthood: A Psychological Perspective......Page 179
Three Models of Wisdom and Aging......Page 180
Studying Wisdom and Aging Is Currently Relevant......Page 182
Can Wisdom Be Measured?......Page 183
Studying Wisdom Is Difficult......Page 184
Implicit Theories of Wisdom in Adulthood......Page 186
Summarizing Implicit Investigations......Page 189
Empirical Evidence for the Null Relationship Between Wisdom and Adult Age......Page 190
Conclusions on Empirical Investigations of Wisdom and Age......Page 194
Moral Reasoning......Page 195
Contact and Discussion with a Valued Other......Page 197
Medical Technology Is Lagging......Page 200
Conclusions......Page 201
What Can We Conclude about Wisdom and Age?......Page 202
The Questions that Remain......Page 203
The Challenges and Triumphs of Wisdom......Page 204
References......Page 205
part iii: Wisdom and the Person......Page 208
8 Wisdom and Personality......Page 210
Neopiagetian Approaches to (General) Wisdom......Page 214
Sternberg's Balance Theory of Wisdom......Page 215
The Berlin Wisdom Paradigm......Page 216
Personal Wisdom and Personality......Page 220
Ego Development, Personal Wisdom, and Personality......Page 221
Psychological Well-Being as an Indicator of Personal Wisdom......Page 223
Two Types of Maturity: Social and Personal......Page 225
Personal Wisdom as Cognitive–Emotional Integration......Page 226
Self-Related Wisdom......Page 227
Personal Wisdom and the Mature Self......Page 229
Conclusion......Page 231
References......Page 232
9 The Role of Emotions in the Development of Wisdom......Page 239
Wisdom and Knowledge: An Evolutionary Perspective......Page 241
The Phenomenology of Wisdom......Page 246
The Development of Wisdom......Page 249
The Measurement of Wisdom......Page 256
Conclusions......Page 258
References......Page 259
part iv: Wisdom in Society......Page 262
10 Morality, Ethics, and Wisdom......Page 264
Forms of Knowledge......Page 265
Ethics and Morality......Page 271
Wisdom and Morality......Page 277
Wisdom and the Rest of Ethics......Page 282
Conclusion......Page 287
References......Page 288
11 Crossing Boundaries to Generative Wisdom: An Analysis of Professional Work......Page 291
Literature on Wisdom......Page 294
Theoretical Framing......Page 295
The Research Study......Page 296
Going beyond Conventional Understanding or Knowledge......Page 297
Seeing beyond the Here and Now......Page 302
Going beyond Traditional Professional Boundaries......Page 306
Implications for Teaching Generative Wisdom......Page 311
Conclusion......Page 313
References......Page 314
1. Definitions and Examples......Page 316
1.1. Wise Leaders......Page 318
1.2. Wise Policies......Page 319
2.1. Supernatural Guidance......Page 321
2.2. Secular Philosophy......Page 323
2.3. Limits of Religion and Moral Philosophy......Page 327
3.1 Collective Good from Self-Interested Behavior......Page 329
3.2 The Search for Synergistic Policies: Explaining the Rise and Fall of Civilizations......Page 330
3.3 The Limitations of Social Science?......Page 331
4. Wisdom as an Attribute of Individuals; the Political Profession......Page 333
5.1. Democracies......Page 335
5.2. Markets......Page 336
6. Conclusions......Page 337
6.1. Walk the Chosen Path......Page 338
6.3. Improve Accountability Systems......Page 340
Author's Note......Page 341
References......Page 342
part v: The Absence of Wisdom......Page 348
13 Foolishness......Page 350
The Traditional View of Smartness and Why It Does Not Protect Us from Foolishness......Page 351
Fallacies of Informal Reasoning......Page 352
A Review of Theories of Foolishness......Page 354
The Five Fallacies......Page 357
Examples of the Fallacies......Page 358
Two Senses of Foolishness......Page 359
References......Page 369
Discussion: Seven Pillars of the House of Wisdom......Page 372
Pillar One: Appreciative Wisdom......Page 373
Pillar Two: Discernment......Page 374
Pillar Three: Common Behavioral Wisdom......Page 376
Pillar Four: Uncommon Behavioral Wisdom......Page 378
Pillar Five: Communal Wisdom......Page 379
Pillar Six: Transcendent Wisdom......Page 381
Pillar Seven: Wisdom as Virtue......Page 384
Do the Seven Pillars Make One House?......Page 385
References......Page 386
Author Index......Page 388
Subject Index......Page 396