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Wisdom

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Knowledge, Teaching and Wisdom

Part of the book series: Philosophical Studies Series ((PSSP,volume 67))

Abstract

Back in the old days, philosophers asked, “what is wisdom?”. Nowadays, philosophers rarely concern themselves with that question. The question deserves some contemporary discussion. In this paper, I will examine some possible answers to the question and then offer my own account of wisdom.

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Notes

  1. For Socrates view on wisdom, see The Apology 20e-23c.

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  2. The Apology,21a

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  3. The Apology,21d - 22b.

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  4. The Apology, 22c.

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  5. The Apology,22c

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  6. The Apology,22c

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  7. The Apology,22d-23

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  8. Keith Lehrer suggested this view in discussions at the N.E.H. Summer Institute on “Knowledge, Teaching, and Wisdom”, University of California at Berkeley, 1993.

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  9. Bruce Russell proposed and defended his acount of wisdom in several discussions we had at the N.E.H. Summer Institute.

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  10. Richard Garrett proposes a similar, yet importantly different account in this volume. Garrett’s view is basically that a wise person knows how to live the best life. Russell’s view implies neither that there is one best life nor that a wise person must know how to live such a life.

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  11. Ted Drange proposed this example in a discussion we had during a departmental hike.

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  12. Mark Aronszajn proposed this counterexample.

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  13. I am grateful to several members of the N.E.H. Summer Institute for stimulating discussions about this topic, especially Hugh Benson and Bruce Russell. In addition, I am grateful to my colleagues Mark Aronszajn and Ted Drange for helpful comments.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. West Virginia University, USA

    Sharon Ryan

Authors
  1. Sharon Ryan
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Arizona, Tucson, USA

    Keith Lehrer

  2. University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA

    B. Jeannie Lum

  3. Erie Community College, Orchard Park, USA

    Beverly A. Slichta

  4. Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

    Nicholas D. Smith

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© 1996 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Ryan, S. (1996). Wisdom. In: Lehrer, K., Lum, B.J., Slichta, B.A., Smith, N.D. (eds) Knowledge, Teaching and Wisdom. Philosophical Studies Series, vol 67. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2022-9_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2022-9_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4684-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-2022-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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