Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Characteristics of what one might consider a typically wise individual

From Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience by Stephen S. Hall, reviewed by A.C. Grayling.
Hall's first and avowedly tentative attempt at a definition is as follows: "Many definitions of wisdom converge on recurrent and common elements: humility, patience, and a clear-eyed, dispassionate view of human nature and the human predicament, as well as emotional resilience, an ability to cope with adversity, and an almost existential acknowledgement of ambiguity and the limitations of knowledge." Note that this is not a definition of an abstract thing called wisdom but a sketch of the personality characteristics of what one might consider a typically wise individual.
Sounds like the effort to define productivity. One can define a range of activities which are likely to encourage increased productivity but whether they in fact do so is a function of context. What we end up with a range of behaviors which characterize that person who is wise and we also define a range of behaviors which characterize that person who we describe as productive. What is interesting is the extent to which the behaviors overlap.

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