Wisdom Lexicon Project
= "to collect and compare relevant definitions from several different languages".
URL = https://www.john-uebersax.com/plato/lexicon.htm
Description
John Uebersax:
"Steps Towards the Scientific Study of Sapience
This project began when it more or less suddenly occurred to me that there are two very different definitions of the word, 'wisdom'. One definition is a kind of practical knowledge gained by experience; we associate it with age -- for example, we speak of 'the wisdom that comes with age'.
The second kind of wisdom is something harder to define, but the consensus seems to be that it has a certain transcendent quality, in the sense that it may be like a stepping outside of mental processes and 'seeing' them in operation. This meaning of the word, 'wisdom', is closely related to discernment, and it is often associated with religion and spirituality. One also often sees allusions to spiritual senses, especially vision, in connection with it. Perhaps we could call this kind of wisdom a basic quality, like sharpness or keenness, of consciousness. It seems like a distinct kind of phenomenological experience, in any case.
As I investigated further, I found discussion of this second kind of wisdom in many different religious traditions, where it seems a subject of special interest. For example, unless I miss my guess entirely, this second kind of wisdom is the main concern of the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament. That would make sense -- it's hard to imagine people eulogizing so profoundly, even to the point of expressing affection for, a mere 'practical knowledge gained by age and experience'. Rather, it appears to me that what they're referring to is this other kind of wisdom, something more rightly thought of as an extraordinary or spiritual or mental/cognitive faculty, or set of faculties.
Elsewhere I will discuss this idea as occurs in the Christian tradition, where it's discussed especially by St. Augustine, among others. One thing is worth noting: in the religious and philosophical literature, there is a consistent opinion expressed such that not everybody is capable of experiencing this kind of wisdom. The explanation given is that mental, moral, or ethical shortcomings (attachment to appetites, etc.), becloud the mind and obscure this faculty. Or, to state things in the positive, it requires a certain level of ascesis or mental/ethical 'purification' for the faculty to develop. A corollary is that many people, not experiencing this subtler kind of wisdom, understandably equate the word 'wisdom' with the other, more common meaning.
I believe, then, there is ample evidence and sufficient agreement on the subject across traditions and cultures that we have good grounds to study the second kind of wisdom as an empirical psychological and cognitive-science question, as well, of course, as a philosophical and religious one. Further, should it be the case that such a distinct faculty or set of sapiential faculties exist -- that is, if we take the religious and philosophical literature at face value -- this would appear to have substantial and diverse practical implications. If these exist, to study and understand them would be a tremendous asset to the fields of counseling and psychotherapy. The faculties would also apply in a very direct way to the treatment of health-compromising behaviors -- including cigarette smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, and overeating -- where failures of particular kinds of discernment and attention seem to be the critical issue. These are just the beginning. At issue is whether there exists such a thing as Wisdom, and whether we, as scientists, may and should study it with the aim of contributing to the advancement of humankind.
This subject is interdisciplinary in nature, falling under the technical purview of: psychology, cognitive science, linguistics and philology, philosophy, sociology, and comparative religion -- just to name a few. Should any doubt exist that we might make practical cognitive discoveries by studying something that is traditionally in the realm of religion, we need only consider the example of meditation, which, although once viewed skeptically, is now considered to have a scientific basis and even constitutes standard medical therapy.
Now, as scientists, we understand that the first step of science is observation. But even before observation, one needs to define the subject, and that presents an immediate need here. The definitions here are imprecise and overlap to a considerable degree. If, however, we allow that these operations and experiences are physiologically mediated (or have physiological epiphenomena), then we have grounds to expect that people in different places, times, and cultures experience more or less the same phenomena, and that they have specific terms for them. The initial step, then, I suggest, is to collect and compare relevant definitions from several different languages and see what that suggests. To this end, I've begun with two sets of words that seem most appropriate. The first set all, in my (limited) opinion, can be interpreted as varieties of these special faculties or senses. The second set appear to be related, but less so."
(https://www.john-uebersax.com/plato/lexicon.htm)
Source
- Uebersax, John S. (2007). "Wisdom Lexicon Project: Steps Towards the Scientific Study of Sapience". Online article. Retrieved from http://john-uebersax.com/plato/lexicon.htm