This post is based on the original presentation in Test Analysis class taught by Dr. Clarence C. Gravlee in Anthropology at the University of Florida, on Nov 29th Workshop (2010).
Title:
Wisdom In life: Searching for the Roots of Positive Human Development Throughout the Life Course
Significant Aims:
To untangle the effects of consistent/inconsistent wisdom characteristics on wisdom development throughout the life course
1) To illustrate relational features of wisdom characteristics found in wisdom nominee and personal wisdom definition
2) To examine laypeople’s perception and attitude on their life story and wonder experience and its relationship with wisdom development
3) To investigate how the social network affects on consistency of wisdom characteristics and development
Rationales
Importance and Timeliness of Implicit Wisdom Research: Wisdom not for attainment but for realization:
“Philosophy should be a school of thought investigating on revelation of wisdom and not attainment of knowledge” (Spinoza).
“…we can find wisdom not only on the steps of the Parthenon, but also around a family dinner table” (Stephen Hall, 2010, p. 14)
“Wisdom is something that a person has within themselves. You can’t learn wisdom, it’s not something that you know statistics you have a formula that you go by, it’s nothing like that. I think what a person goes through in life, what they…want out of life and what they’re going through right then…all the combination of your past, your present and things that you want to see in the future, combined in one for you to be wise, you have wisdom.” (Interview# 2007)
Literature Review
Wisdom and its Elitism and Divinity:
- Wisdom as always to be aspired, and yet essentially unattainable –>
Robinson (1990); Immanuel Kant (Adler et al., 1990); Paul Baltes, et al. (2000; 1995); Sternberg and Jordan (2005)
2. Demotion of laypeople’s wisdom –>
Augustine: sapientia vs. scientia (knowledge of the material world)
3. Western approaches (analytic) vs. Eastern approaches (synthetic) –>
Analytic abilities, such as increases in knowledge and understanding and the processing of information vs. Integration, harmony, compassionate concern for others
4. Growth and expansion vs. stability (security) and balance (Zygmunt Bauman in critique on Modernity and Rationality)
Sternberg and Jordan (2005); Takahashi, 2000, 2005; Yang (2001)
Research Questions
- How is wisdom understood differently among two extreme groups of wisdom scorers (top 10 vs. bottom 10)?
- What’s the relationship between wisdom nominee and personal wisdom definition?
- How and to what extent does personal life story and wonder experience interplay with wisdom nomination and personal definition?
- When do people think they are wise?
- How is wisdom understood differently in between wisdom nominee in person and in history?
