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There are several attitudes discussed below that tend toward wisdom. These include:
- Recognition of the importance of values
- Recognizing the power and limits of knowledge
- Humbleness
- A willingness to act in the face of uncertainty
- Appreciating that our problems are dynamic and ever-changing
Let’s explore these in more detail.
Attitudes towards values
A critical insight the wise possess is an understanding of the importance of values. Our values drive us to action, just as it is another person’s values that drive their actions.
Social systems require the expression of many values to thrive. Wisdom requires recognition of the importance of those values held by others. Wisdom also requires that we become consciously aware of the values that motivate our actions and how we might balance our values against others to meet society’s broader needs.[1][2]
Do you have a strong sense of what your values are? Could you clearly articulate them to someone else? How about your job, the career you pursue, or the company that hired you? Which values was that career designed to express? Does that company pursue values compatible with your own?
Those aspiring to wisdom use these types of questions to guide them to vocations where they can become champions.
Recognize the power and limits of knowledge
In addition to understanding values, those striving for wisdom recognize the power and limits of knowledge.[3] Be curious. Become a continual learner. As a practitioner in whatever vocation you have chosen, continue developing your competencies and skills. Deepening your skills to enhance your ability to act
It’s funny, but gaining knowledge also allows you to see knowledge’s limits. The more you learn, the more mysteries you discover. It takes an expert to know what they don’t know.[4]
The Dunning-Kruger effect described below highlights the validity of this perspective.
Examples: The Dunning-Kruger Effect
The Dunning-Kruger effect describes the phenomena of an individual’s level of confidence in a subject relative to their expertise.
People with very little training in an area commonly possess unduly high confidence in their ability. As their training advances, they lose that confidence as they begin to recognize their limitations.
With further training, they begin to regain their self-assurance, but never to the same level as when they were uneducated. This pattern emerges because, as your knowledge deepens, you become more aware of its limitations.
If you wish to learn more, click here for an in-depth discussion on this topic.
“Dunning-kruger” by Jens Egholm Pedersen, Wikimedia Commons is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
The Dunning-Kruger effect has been used to explain why non-medical professionals feel they can challenge physicians’ recommendations to vaccinate their children. It also explains why lay-people with no climate science training feel they can speak confidently about what the science says about human-caused climate change.
Humbleness
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