Monday, 2 March 2009
Wisdom as Personality
Who is wise? Recognizing wisdom in others presumes that there are characteristics that reside within the person.
Associate Professor Monica Ardelt (2003) measures wisdom by assessing the attributes and personality characteristics of wise individuals. She identifies the simultaneous presence of three dimensions of personality as both necessary and sufficient for a person to be considered wise:
(1) the cognitive dimension: a desire to know the truth and attain a deeper understanding of life, including knowledge and acceptance of the positive and negative aspects of human nature, of the inherent limits of knowledge, and of life’s unpredictability and uncertainties;
(2) the reflective component: self-examination, self-awareness, self-insight and the ability to look at phenomena and events from different perspectives; and
(3) the affective component: sympathetic and compassionate love for others.