Can Wisdom be Taught?

Can, or even should wisdom be taught at school? Would teaching about wisdom in the classroom even translate into wiser behaviour? And might learning about wise historical figures in school actually decrease the likelihood of students behaving more wisely? Igor and Charles tinker with the nuts and bolts of a speculative wisdom curriculum, discussing the stark limits of formal ethics classes, future technological tools to help identify when wise reasoning is necessary, and the counterproductive impact of presenting wise figures out of context. Igor commends Yoda for wisely encouraging Luke to share his failures, and alerts us to the dangers of turning sages into saints, while Charles struggles to acquire the wisdom necessary to know when wisdom is necessary. Welcome to Episode 13.

• A pathway for wisdom-focused education - Huynh, Grossmann (2018)
• Wisdom and how to cultivate it: Review of emerging evidence for a constructivist model of wise thinking - Grossmann (2018)
• Teaching for Wisdom: Cross-cultural Perspectives on Fostering Wisdom - Ferrari, Potworowski (2008)
• Why Schools Should Teach for Wisdom: The Balance Theory of Wisdom in Educational Settings - Sternberg (2001)
• 'From Jerusalem to Jericho': A Study of Situational and Dispositional Variables in Helping Behavior - Darley, Batson (1973)
• Construal-Level Theory of Psychological Distance - Trope, Liberman (2010)
• Yoda & Luke - The Last Jedi (2017)
• The Jigsaw Classroom