Spring 2015 Wisdom Course Study Questions

Return to Wisdom

JAN 21

1. What are the principle traits and defining characteristics of wisdom on Hall's definition? Do they seem justified in light of your own paradigmatic image(s) of wisdom (situtations within you judge or hypothesize wise thought or action of some kind)?
2. (In Robinson) What are some characteristics of Homeric culture that distinguish its model of wisdom?
3. Is Socrates' legend a testimony to the reality of wisdom?
4. What is the Axial Age Hypothesis? Evaluate.
5. Distinguish Periclean and Socratic models of wisdom.
6. What is Aristotle's view of wisdom? (Consider both Robinson and next week's Clayton and Birren)
7. Describe and evaluate Gisela Labouvie-Vief's criticism of Western models of cognition.

JAN 28

1. What, if anything, does Clayton and Birren's multi-dimensional scaling study show? about how the nature of wisdom is perceived by age cohorts?

2. How does Ardelt explain variation on life satisfaction of older adults in terms of wisdom?

3. How might the subjective sense of "time remaining" affect the onset of wisdom or create a condition for it's emergence?

FEB 4

1. How should we account for the way wisdom moves from religious to secular forms of culture and "disappears" after the scientific revolution?

2. What are the distinctive themes and foci of the 1st generation of empirical wisdom research?

3. What does research on emotional regulation tell us about the nature of wisdom in the life span?

FEB 11

1. What is the basic construct of wisdom in Baltes' paradigm. What assumptions underlie his team's approach?

2. What is a meta-heuristic and what is it's relevance to wisdom? What is SOC theory and how might it qualify as a meta-heuristic for wisdom?

3. What are some of the constraints and limits of social science theorizing about wisdom?

FEB 18

1. What can contemporary moral psychology (Hall Ch. 6 and Haidt EmoDog) tell us about the connection between emotion, moral decision making, and wisdom?

2. What is the value of compassion? How could experiencing the pain of others be connected to wisdom? What experiences can disclose my capacity for compassion?

3. What is humility, what would I look for to know if I have it, and how, at a psychological level, is it related to wisdom? Can humility survive in a careerist, individualist competitive (rather than cooperative) society?

FEB 25

1. What is the Buddhist analysis of suffering and enlightenment?

2. How would a Buddhist (such as Ricard) make the case for egolessness as a personal wisdom goal? Evaluate the case.

MAR 4

1. What is the stoic analysis of suffering and what is the remedy? Evaluate Stoicism in light of typical objections.

2. What is the principle evidence and counterevidence for the hypothesis that resilience might be cultivated by exposure to adversity?

MAR 18

1. What is the Stoic diagnosis of suffering and how is it to be relieved? Bring in background concepts and assumptions in order to make your characterization effective.

2. Critically assess stoicism as a philosophy of wisdom.