Wisdom and education

I remember an 8 year old girl once telling me, "A wise person is someone who knows a lot about many things, but is humble and not proud and uses what they know to help other people". She must have been talking to Robert Sternberg.

Robert J. Sternberg explores (2004) the balance theory of wisdom. At heart it claims that a wise action works towards a common good.

Wisdom is the use of one’s intelligence and experience as mediated by values toward the achievement of a common good through a balance among (1) intrapersonal, (2) interpersonal, and (3) extrapersonal interests, over the (1) short and (2) long terms, to achieve a balance among (1) adaptation to existing environments, (2) shaping of existing environments, and (3) selection of new environments. This article discusses the balance theory of wisdom, and how wisdom can be assessed and developed.

The phrase 'common good' can be problematic unless it is shaped democratically. The Nazi definition of common good was aimed at only part of the population, and was probably not even true for them. Sternberg describes his book (2003) as exploring perceptions of wisdom in America, and may therefore not be generalisable elsewhere. Wisdom is a concept rather than a reality - the balance sought in the definition is more effectively a tool to analyse actions - are the actions for the common good? are they based on sound reasoning and research? have people's needs and views been taken into account? is it likely to be effective long term as well as short term? does it help to improve our world/environment?

Judgements that actions are wise or not may depend on our approval or disapproval of the actions - are actions we disapprove of automatically thought of as unwise? Even if they meet all of the above criteria. The criteria may help us to reject such subjective views of wisdom, but there may be subjectivity in each of the criteria. If the only actions that can be considered wise are those which have a consensus, there is no room for the paradigm-breaking steps which will take people a while to get used to. The need for consensus will in fact hold development back, linking action to the lowest common denominator of understanding. We have to view such paradigm-breaking actions as being in the common good even if they are not so recognised. Sternberg notes elsehere (2003:180):

Whereas the wise person is perceived to be a conserver of worldly experience, the creative person is perceived to be a defier of such experience.

A wise person however it not someone who protects ancient beliefs but someone inspires people now to make a better world for tomorrow. That person is likely to be a paradigm breaker, a thinker of new thoughts, and above all a person who inspires.


[Sternberg, Robert J. (2003) Wisdom, intelligence and creativity synthesised, Cambridge University Press; Sternberg, R. J. (2004). ‘What is wisdom and how can we develop it?’. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 591, no. 1, pp. 164-174. Online: http://ann.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/591/1/164.]