Wisdom is a concept that is often discussed but rarely defined.

It is a quality that
many people strive to possess, but it is not always easy to understand what it
truly means. In its most basic form, wisdom is the ability to make sound
decisions and judgments based on knowledge, experience, and insight.

Wisdom is one of those qualities that is difficult to define—because it

encompasses so much—but which people generally recognize when they
encounter it. And it is encountered most obviously in the realm of decision-
making.

Wisdom is the ability to make decisions and take action based on knowledge,
experience, understanding, common sense, and insight. It is the capacity to
discern and judge which aspects of a situation are most important and how best
to handle it. Wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good
judgment. It is the ability to use one's knowledge and experience to make sound
decisions and take appropriate action. It is the ability to apply knowledge and
experience to life in a way that is beneficial to oneself and others.

Wisdom is more than just knowledge and understanding; it is the ability to apply
that knowledge in a practical way. It is the ability to recognize patterns and make
connections between ideas and concepts. Wisdom is the ability to think critically
and objectively about a situation and make decisions that are in the best interest
of oneself and others. It is the ability to recognize the consequences of one’s
actions and to make decisions accordingly.

Wisdom is also the ability to see the bigger picture and to understand the
interconnectedness of all things. It is the ability to look beyond the immediate
and to recognize the long-term implications of one’s decisions.

Wise people generally share an optimism that life's problems can be solved and
experience a certain amount of calm in facing difficult
decisions. Intelligence may be necessary for wisdom, but it definitely isn't
sufficient; an ability to see the big picture, a sense of proportion, intellectual
humility, and considerable introspection also contribute to its development.

Wisdom can be acquired only through experience, but by itself, experience does
not automatically confer wisdom. Researchers are continuing to probe the
social, emotional, and cognitive processes that transmute experience into
wisdom.

How do researchers define wisdom?

Numerous theories are emerging to try to measure and model wisdom. A
leading theory, developed by psychologists Paul Baltes and others, defines
wisdom as “expert knowledge in the fundamental pragmatics of life that permits
exceptional insight, judgment, and advice about complex and uncertain
matters.” That encompasses five key components: rich procedural kn owledge,
rich factual knowledge, an understanding of different life contexts, an awareness
of the relativism of values and priorities, and the ability to recognize and manage
uncertainty. These criteria are measured by introducing hypothetical scenarios
and assessing what participants would consider or do in those situations.

But there are other theories of wisdom as well. Sociologist Monika Ardelt
believes that individuals develop wisdom as personality characteristics
encompassing reflection, compassion, and the pursuit of truth. Psychologist
Robert Sternberg understands wisdom as balance between oneself and others
so that actions are directed at the common good.

What are the components of wisdom?

Wisdom encompasses cognitive components, such as knowledge and

experience, reflective components, or the ability to examine situations and
oneself, and prosocial components, meaning benevolence and
compassion. Wisdom is also connected to abilities such as perspective-taking,
open-mindedness, and intellectual humility.

What’s the difference between intelligence and wisdom?

Knowledge and intelligence are important components of wisdom, but wisdom

is deeper than internalizing facts, theories, or processes. Intelligence explains
less of the variance in wisdom-related performance than do personality traits,
research suggests. Life experience is one of the strongest predictors of wisdom.

How is wisdom related to age?

Many people believe wisdom comes from advanced age, but the reality is more
complex. Some research finds that wisdom rises until the mid-20s and then
remains fairly stable until around age 75, when it begins to decline. Overall, old
age doesn’t seem to be necessary or sufficient for wisdom—what matters more
may be the motivation to pursue its development.

Do hardships make you wiser?

Difficult experiences certainly have the potential for growth—but they don’t
automatically confer wisdom. Wisdom is acquired only by learning from the
experience. Both research and clinical observation suggest that people who
work to process adversity, derive meaning from it, and allow it to catalyze
change are the people for whom hardships lead to wisdom.

How does wisdom differ across cultures?

Culture can influence which traits are considered virtuous and

the education that individuals receive. For example, American culture places a
stronger emphasis on achievement, while Japanese culture puts more value on
perspective-taking. Experience substantially contributes to the development of
wisdom, and culture informs which experiences people have and how they
handle them.

How does wisdom relate to religion and spirituality?

Wisdom and faith are in some ways intertwined. They both depend on
decentering oneself and seeing a broader picture. Religions often emphasize the
importance of living a meaningful life, building community and caring for others,
and mentorship and scholarly pursuits, all of which pertain to developing
wisdom.

How is wisdom acquired?

Wisdom can be gained through a combination of experience and education.

Living through experiences such as making weighty professional decisions or
resolving painful relationship conflicts provide greater knowledge, and learning
to think critically and broaden perspective in an educational setting can help
hone the skill as well.

How do you make wise decisions?

When approaching a decision, open-mindedness, perspective taking, and

intellectual humility can all help you arrive at a sound conclusion. These features
create a bigger picture, revealing contextual factors that can help identify a fit
between the demands of the specific situation and the knowledge you may have
about how to handle different situations.

Wisdom is the ability to know what is true or right, common sense or the
collection of one's knowledge. An example of wisdom is the quote "The best
mind-altering drug is truth." noun. Wisdom is the ability to discern and judge
which aspects of that knowledge are true, right, lasting, and applicable to your
life. It’s the ability to apply that knowledge to the greater scheme of life. It’s also
deeper; knowing the meaning or reason; about knowing why something is, and
what it means to your life. Sadly we can gain a lifetime of knowledge, yet never
see the wisdom in it. We can be wise, but still miss the deeper meaning.. Balance
Theory Of Wisdom A balance theory of wisdom is presented, according to which
wisdom is defined as the application of tacit knowledge as mediated by values
toward the achievement of a common good through a balance among multiple
(a) intrapersonal, (b) interpersonal, and (c) extrapersonal interests in order to
achieve a balance among (a) adaptation to existing environments, (b) shaping of
existing environments, and (c) selection of new environments. Eastern and
Western Perspective of Wisdom Indian wisdom includes the propositions that all
existence is fundamentally one, that the universe is pervaded by an informing
intelligence, that every form is endowed with life, and that all life is evolving
toward more sensitive forms, wider intelligence, and fuller realization of the
unity that underlies its apparent diversity. Indian wisdom is expressed most
centrally through the ancient religious systems of Hinduism, Jainism, and
Buddhism. Each of those systems has its own emphases and its own ways to
state Indian wisdom. India is a land of wide variety of all kinds, including
philosophical variations. But, in general, the Indian religious systems agree on
the basic propositions of unity, intelligence, and vitality The three forms of the
wisdom of the East—those of Persia, India, and China—are adapted, each to the
culture in which it developed. Yet all of them have important contributions to
make to universal human culture. Wisdom is wisdom, whatever its form of
expression and emphasis. So the wise in every culture will heed and follow these
universal insights into the fundamental nature of reality and of human life.

Review of Literature (ROL):

Igor Grossmann, Nic M. Weststrate, Monika Ardelt, Justin P. Brienza, Mengxi

Dong, Michel Ferrari, Marc A. Fournier, Chao S. Hu, Howard C. Nusbaum, John
Vervaeke. (2020) The Science of Wisdom in a Polarized World: Knowns and
Unknowns. What is it that makes someone wise, or one person wiser than
another? I argue that wisdom consists in knowledge of how to live well, and that
this knowledge of how to live well is constituted by various further kinds of
knowledge. One concern for this view is that knowledge is not needed for
wisdom but rather some state short of knowledge, such as having rational or
justified beliefs about various topics. Another concern is that the emphasis on
knowing how to live well fails to do justice to the ancient tradition of ‘theoretical
wisdom’. I address both of these concerns in filling out the account. 2.

Grossmann, Igor. "Wisdom and how to cultivate it." European Psychologist

(2017) Although wisdom is thought to be a strong predictor for many attributes
of aging well, the concept of wisdom still lacks a comprehensive, directly testable
scale. Quantitative and qualitative interviews with a sample of 180 older adults
(age 52- plus) were conducted to develop a three-dimensional wisdom scale (3D-
WS) and to test its validity and reliability. Wisdom was operationalized and
measured as a latent variable with cognitive, reflective, and affective effect
indicators. Respondents completed a self-administered questionnaire, which
included 114 items from existing scales and 18 newly developed items to assess
the three dimensions of wisdom. The final version of the 3D-WS consists of 14
items for the cognitive, 12 for the reflective, and 13 for the affective component
of wisdom. Results indicate that the 3D-WS can be considered a reliable and
valid instrument and a promising measure of the latent variable wisdom in large,
standardized surveys of older populations.

Rooney, David, and Bernard McKenna. "Wisdom in organizations: Whence and

whither." Social Epistemology 21.2 (2007) We trace the genealogy of wisdom to
show that its status in epistemological and management discourse has gradually
declined since the Scientific Revolution. As the status of wisdom has declined, so
the status of rational science has grown. We argue that the effects on the
practice of management of the decline of wisdom may impede management
practice by clouding judgment, degrading decision making and compromising
ethical standards. We show that wisdom combines transcendent intellection and
rational process with ethics to provide a balanced and integrated way of
knowing, deciding and acting for managers in a complex and uncertain business
environment. Finally, we discuss the role and value of wisdom across a range of
business functions including knowledge management, strategic management,
leadership and international business.

Greene, Jeffrey A., and Scott C. Brown. "The wisdom development scale: Further
validity investigations." The International Journal of Aging and Human
Development 2009 Researchers are gaining an interest in the concept of
wisdom, a more holistic yet often ineffable educational outcome. Models of
wisdom abound, but few have rigorously tested measures. This study looks at
Brown's (2004a, 2004b) Model of Wisdom Development and its associated
measure, the Wisdom Development Scale (WDS; Brown & Greene, 2006). The
construct validity, measurement invariance, criterion validity, and reliability of
scores from the WDS were assessed with over 3000 participants from two
separate groups: one a sample of professionals and the other a sample of
college students. Support for construct validity and reliability with these samples
was found, along with measurement invariance. Latent means analyses showed
predicted discrimination between the groups, and criterion validity evidence,
with another measure of collegiate educational outcomes, was found.

Dybicz, Phillip. "An inquiry into practice wisdom." Families in Society 85.2
(2004): .Social work is unique among the social sciences in adopting the term
practice wisdom. Why was the word wisdom chosen? Why didn't the terms
practice knowledge or practical experience arise in its stead? This article
examines various definitions of practice wisdom that have been previously
offered. Then, turning to the work of Socrates, it examines the nature of
wisdom. This leads to considering that the application of social work values, ove