What is Wisdom? Experts Define It

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What is Wisdom? Experts Define It

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/188170.php

Compassion. Self-understanding. Morality. Emotional stability. These words would

seem to describe at least some of the universal traits attributed to wisdom,

each of them broadly recognized and valued. In fact, there is no enduring,

consistent definition of what it means exactly to be wise. It is a virtue widely

treasured but essentially unexplained, a timeless subject only now attracting

rigorous, scientific scrutiny.

In 2009, Dilip V. Jeste, MD, and W. Meeks, MD, both professors in the

department of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego and

researchers at the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, published

a paper proposing that sagacity might have a neurobiological basis.

In other words, that wisdom is wired.

In the June issue of The Gerontologist and currently online, Jeste and Meeks go

further, attempting to identify the central, unifying elements that define

wisdom. With colleagues from four other universities, Jeste and Meeks asked a

group of international experts to characterize the traits of wisdom,

intelligence and spirituality - and measure how each trait is either similar to

or different from the others.

" There are several major definitions of wisdom, but no single definition that is

all-inclusive and embraces every important aspect of wisdom, " said Jeste, who is

the Estelle and Edgar Levi Chair in Aging, professor of psychiatry and

neuroscience and chief of geriatric psychiatry at UC San Diego. " Intelligence

and spirituality share features with wisdom, but they are not the same thing.

One can be intelligent, yet lack practical knowledge. Spirituality is often

associated with age, like wisdom, but most researchers tend to define wisdom in

secular terms, not spiritual. "

The research consisted of a two-part survey and a questionnaire comprised of 53

statements related to the concepts of wisdom, intelligence and spirituality.

Fifty-seven experts were identified and contacted by email; 30 responded.

Phase 1 of the survey revealed significant group differences among the concepts

on 49 of 53 statements. Wisdom differed from intelligence on 46 of 49 items, and

from spirituality on 31 items.

In Phase 2, the definition of wisdom was further refined by focusing upon 12

items from the Phase 1 results. Most of the experts, Jeste and Meeks said,

agreed that wisdom could be characterized thus:

It is uniquely human.

It is a form of advanced cognitive and emotional development that is

experience-driven.

It is a personal quality, albeit rare.

It can be learned, increases with age and can be measured.

It is probably not enhanced by taking medication.

The survey was conducted using the Delphi method, developed by the RAND

Corporation in the 1950s and based on the principle that forecasts from a

structured group of experts are more accurate than those from unstructured

groups or individuals. The paper's authors identified 60 recognized experts on

wisdom in the world, focusing upon those outside their own institutions. The

nominees were required to have at least two peer-reviewed publications on wisdom

or spirituality, though the number of total publications was not the sole

criterion for selection.

The survey asked participating experts to rate the relevance and importance of

six statements (i.e. " The concept can be applied to human beings. " ), based upon

their knowledge of empirical evidence, to the concepts of intelligence, wisdom

and spirituality. The rating scale ranged from 1 (definitely not) to 9

(definitely so). The experts were then asked to rate the importance of 47

components, such as altruism, practical life skills, sense of humor, realism,

willingness to forgive others and self-esteem, to the concepts of wisdom,

intelligence and spirituality.

" One survey, of course, cannot fully and completely define wisdom, " said Jeste.

" The value here is that there was considerable agreement among experts that

wisdom is indeed a distinct entity with a number of characteristic qualities.

The data from our research should help in designing future empirical studies on

wisdom. "

Co-authors of the paper, with Jeste and Meeks, were Monika Ardelt, PhD, of the

department of sociology and criminology & law at the University of Florida,

Gainesville; Dan Blazer, MD, PhD, MPH, of the department of psychiatry and

behavioral sciences at Duke University in Durham, N.C.; Helena C. Kraemer, PhD,

of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University

in Palo Alto, Ca.; and Vaillant, MD, of the department of psychiatry at

Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass.