Function Of Wisdom Research Articles

Cosmopolitan Wisdom and the Enactment of Moral Intelligibility

Abstract Immanuel Kant’s critical philosophy pays little explicit attention to the concept of ‘wisdom’ in its taxonomy of the functions of human reason in its work of rendering intelligible the world and the human place in the world. On the basis of some crucial texts in Kant’s writings, this essay argues that wisdom has a role to play in the task Kant assigns to practical reason; this task is to make the world in which humans dwell intelligible morally, i.e., to make sense of the world as locus in which good and evil take form in function of the exercise of human freedom. In such a world, the function of wisdom is ‘cosmopolitan’ in that it provides a horizon of a social hope that recognizes human solidarity, vulnerability, and otherness, as signal instances of the inclusive moral relationality necessary for sustaining both an ‘outer’ world order for peace and the ‘inner’ dynamic of full moral relationality that Kant terms ‘the ethical commonwealth’.

The curious incident of wisdom in the thought of Feng Qi (1915–1995): comparative philosophy, historical materialism, and metaphysics

ABSTRACTAfter some introductory remarks on the work of the modern Chinese philosopher Feng Qi, I begin this article by providing some observations concerning the ambiguous notion of ‘wisdom’ in Orientalist representations of non-Western thought and in comparative philosophy, as well as on the peculiar form of subjectivity ascribed to the ‘wise’ subject. I then proceed by offering an account of Feng’s philosophical universalism and historical materialist outlook, outlining the identification of wisdom with metaphysics in his early work and exploring the status and function of wisdom in his mature writings. In doing so, I analyze the tension in Feng’s work between the theoretical rationality and systematicity of ‘metaphysics’ on the one hand and the existential and transformative orientation of ‘wisdom’ on the other.

Lonergan on Wisdom

This article surveys Lonergan’s transposition of wisdom from Aquinas. While the latter contained metaphysical and epistemological aspects, Lonergan attempts to provide an additional type of wisdom upon which the principles of the two aspects are grounded. In addition, the article addresses the natural and supernatural forms of wisdom in Lonergan’s thinking. Finally, while Frederick Crowe refers to the ‘strange disappearance’ of wisdom explicitly from Lonergan’s later writing, especially Method in Theology, it is argued that the function of wisdom not only remains but permeates it. 1

Wisdom in Jung's Answer To Job

Contemporary biblical scholarship in its understanding of the nature of lament, and the role and function of wisdom, provides a fresh context in which to view C. G. Jung's psychological commentary on the Book of Job. A brief review of the psychological model Jung used in his commentary on the Book of Job, and the practical implications of this model, is followed by a discussion of Jung's use of "lamentation" and his elaboration of the role of wisdom-an elaboration that expresses concerns similar to those contained in much of today's biblical scholarship.

Wisdom and intelligence: the nature and function of knowledge in the later years.

Intelligence can be defined as the ability to think logically, to conceptualize and abstract from reality. Wisdom can be defined as the ability to grasp human nature, which is paradoxical, contradictory, and subject to continual change. These two constructs hold potential for highlighting positive and adaptive features of development in the later years. both are considered to increase with age, and both provide for life-long acquisition of knowledge. Despite these phenotypic similarities, this paper attempts to illustrate that the nature of wisdom and its function in the developmental process differs sufficiently from cognitive ability to warrant separate scrutiny. These two constructs are compared with respect to the domains of behavior they represent, the operational tasks used to assess them, and the relationship of logic and time in their development. The function of intelligence is characterized as focusing on questions of how to do and accomplish necessary life-supporting tasks; the function of wisdom Is characterized as provoking the individual to consider the consequences of his actions both to self and their effects on others. Wisdom, therefore, evokes questions of should one pursue a particular course of action.