Understanding Ourselves
Defining Wisdom
EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION
Thomas Aquinas praises wisdom as humanity’s most sublime pursuit; Lucius Annaeus Seneca warns that no one becomes wise by chance. In the third installment based on Dilip Jeste and Scott LaFee’s Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion, and What Makes Us Good, Doug turns from those epigraphs to five recurring features identified by researchers — and the conclusion that wisdom can be learned but is unlikely to be produced by medication.
A Note on the Original Text
Doug’s writings are presented as originally written. Spelling, punctuation, and grammatical irregularities have been retained to preserve his words and the integrity of the original record.
ORIGINAL WRITING
The title of this post is identical to the title of a chapter in a book titled Wiser by Dilip Jeste, MD with Scott LaFee. The chapter begins with the following quotes:
Of all the pursuits open to men, the search for wisdom is more perfect, more sublime, more profitable, and more full of joy. THOMAS AQUINAS
No man was ever wise by chance. LUCIUS ANNAEUS SENECA
A good place to begin is by asking what do scientists know about wisdom. After reviewing summaries of an enormous amount of research, the authors came to the following conclusions:
Wisdom is a form of advanced cognitive and emotional development driven by experience. It can be measured, learned, and observed. We all know people who epitomize wisdom. The experts concur that wisdom does increase with age, that is uniquely human and distinctly personal. But it isn’t likely to be enhanced by taking medication.
There was a consensus among experts as to what comprises the features of wisdom.
Prosocial Attitudes and Behaviors, which include empathy, compassion, and altruism. Readers of the healthy memory blog should be familiar with these.
Emotional Stability with Happiness. The is the ability to maintain self-control, while preferring positive feelings to negative ones. “Anger is a brief madness,” observed the ancient Roman poet Horace. Few are are done well when driven by unthinking passions.
Balancing Decisiveness with Acceptance of Uncertainty. The latter involves acknowledging that different but equally valid perspectives exist and that things can change, including one’s deeply held thoughts and beliefs, over time with new knowledge, experience and insights.
Reflection and Self-Understanding. These include insight, intuition and self-awareness. Are you able to analyze yourself and your motivations, your strengths and weaknesses? Understanding oneself is much more difficult than people think.
Social Decision-Making, and Pragmatic Knowledge of Life. These relate to social reasoning and the ability to give good advice, as well as share life knowledge and life skills. Wisdom not shared is wisdom not gained but lost.
A second review of the scientific literature added three more components. One was spirituality, plus two common components: openness to new experiences and a sense of humor.
It should be noted that spirituality is not the same as religiosity. The latter typically refers to organized or cultural systems of belief. Religion can be and often is spiritual in nature, but its practices vary considerably in societies and around the world. Spirituality is a more universal constant, a core human belief in something larger that the individual and the society. It leads to a feeling of humility as well as comfort in going beyond the stresses of everyday life. Spirituality can include religions but it can mean and embrace much, much more.