Teaching Wisdom

Abstract

What is wisdom, and how is it imparted? Is there anything we can do, as teachers, parents and the like, to foster wisdom in others? In this essay, I shall explain and defend a certain hypothesis concerning the nature of wisdom-roughly, that it consists in sound judgment. I will try to show that this approach to understanding wisdom has distinct advantages over accounts that make it out to be a kind of knowledge. As for its transmission, I shall argue that while wisdom is not in any straightforward sense teachable, there are things one can do that seem likely to promote sound judgment in others. Noteworthy among them are these: First, one who would impart wisdom must allow the intended recipient to exercise his or her own capacity for judgment. Second, to become wise, a person must not only make judgments, but also gain practice in evaluating them. Third, questions have a certain priority over statements in the imparting of wisdom. Finally, the correction of a pupil’s mistaken judgment should, whenever possible, take the form of showing why the judgment is mistaken, rather than telling that it is mistaken.