Role of wisdom

The Isdom of the Wisdom Society: Embodying time as the heartland of humanity (Part #2)

"Wisdom" has an intriguing status in relation to "knowledge" and "information". This is especially so because of its traditional role in relation to governance. Whilst the highest levels of governance may be dependent on their information services, and the specialized knowledge of their experts, ultimately it is on the "wisdom" in making decisions when confronted with strategic dilemmas that the reputation (and survival) of a governor (or government) depends. Given his considerable experience in government, there is value to the distinctions made by Harlan Cleveland (Information As a Resource. The Futurist Dec. 1982: 34-39): Information is horizontal, knowledge is structured and hierarchical, and wisdom is organic and flexible.

As editor of a most valuable overview, R J Sternberg (Wisdom: its nature, origins, and development. 1990) indicates the relevance of wisdom in these terms:

It is hoped that research on wisdom will help to develop useful tools to assist world and national leaders in the increasingly complex problems facing humanity. Many crucial decisions, from nuclear waste to water use, face leaders and policy makers each day. Thus, wisdom is not simply for wise people or curious psychologists: it is for all people and the future of the world.

The role of wisdom has been well-positioned as a result of the dramatic intelligence failure associated with weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The quantity of data from electronic surveillance was enormous -- even larger quantities are now sought. This was selectively filtered into patterns of information that was subject to knowledgable interpretation -- about which many questions have been raised. But the final challenge for governance arose from the lack of wisdom with which this necessarily partial knowledge was used.

Nicholas Mawell (From Knowledge to Wisdom: a revolution in the aims and methods of science, 1984) argues that the radical, wasteful misdirection of academic effort is actually a central cause of the tragedy and dangers of the present era. For him:

Granted that enquiry has as its basic aim to help enhance the quality of human life, it is actually profoundly and damagingly irrational, unrigorous, for enquiry to give intellectual priority to the task of improving knowledge... [rather than to]... create and make available a rich store of vividly imagined and sevrely criticized possible actions, so that our capacity to act intelligently and humanely in reality is thereby enhanced. [p. 2]

For UNESCO, as the intergovernmental body mandated for information-related matters, it would appear that "wisdom" is subsumed under philosophy (that so lovingly studies it) -- or as the acknowledgement of the "wisdom" associated with indigenous knowledge, cultural expression, world religions, or "wise use" of resources. For the Director-General:

Philosophy, as the term signifies, is the love of wisdom. Regardless of its specific terminology in various cultures all over the world, tetsugaku in Japanese, indicating the discipline of wisdom, or in Arabic, falsafa, meaning science of wisdom, this act of thinking about thinking turns by definition around the fundamental concepts and ideas that lie at the heart of existence, both individual and collective. It is this act of philosophizing that is the lifeblood of philosophy. And it is precisely this act of reflection, of analysis, of questioning - whether of concepts that are taken for granted, ideas dulled by time, or long-established paradigms... (Philosophy Day at UNESCO, 21 November 2002)

But for the editors of participant interviews on the occasion of the UNESCO-sponsored 20th World Congress of Philosophy (Boston, 1998) (Michael Tobias, et al. A Parliament of Minds: philosophy for a New Millennium, 2000):

Why has philosophy failed its public? Like so much else in our society, it tried to become a speciality, a discourse only for experts. Yet it began life as the pursuit for the arch-generalist, the license to speculate in the most open an free manner. the dark narrowness of insistent explanation proved to be its downfall.

And yet the UNESCO 1998 World Declaration on Higher Education for the Twenty First Centrury: Vision and Action (Article 6d) indicates: "Ultimately, higher education should aim at the creation of a new society - non-violent and non-exploitative - consisting of highly cultivated, motivated and integrated individuals, inspired by love for humanity and guided by wisdom". As with other such secondary references to "wisdom", including those in the UN Dialogue among Civilizations (2000), it remains unclear what content is implied or how any "guidance" is supposed to function in relation to governance.

And, with respect to "wisdom", the UNU's Global Virtual University (created in 2002) has only this to say:

Well-designed information facilitates the construction of knowledge. Knowledge in combination with experience may give sufficient wisdom to choose the right tools and resources to be able to "cross the bridge" from theory to practical implementation: a change in behaviour that entails a sustainable development. (Global cooperation on e-learning: Background and pedagogical strategy)

It is not for nothing that appeal is occasionally made -- even in industrialized countries -- to "councils of the wise" (see Development beyond Science to Wisdom: Facilitating the emergence of configurative understanding in Councils of the Wise. 1979). It is also a theme in speculative popular fiction as an imaginative attractor. The Club of Rome, and similar bodies, tend to perceive themselves as such. Various groups of "wisdom keepers" (possibly restricted to women) have been formed, notably in relation to the concerns and insights of indigenous peoples [more | more]. One such group met on the occasion of the 1992 Earth Summit. An International Council of Wise Women has been created and the creation of a World Council of Wise Women has been proposed.

The expression "Council of Wise Men" (or Group of Wise Men) continues to be used in contemporary society (notably in the UN, Commonwealth, OECD and EU systems) [more | more] -- despite its sexist bias, less obvious in some languages (eg Conseil des Sages) [more]. The Council of Europe uses the formula "Council of Wise Persons" (earlier "Council of Wise Men"). Other examples include:

The transformation of the OAU into the African Union (2002-3) created a Peace and Security Council, modelled on the United Nations Security Council, and responsible for forming a Council of Wise Men (five person apolitical, but recognised for their moral authority), to direct the decisions. [more]
It has been suggested with respect to the future evolution of African parliaments that: "Restoring the spirit of the council of wise men will lay the foundations for a genuine constitutional jurisdiction with popular support" (Le Monde Diplomatique, December 2000).
Japan and Russia proposed in October 2003 to use the form to help resolve their differences [more]
Where the UNIDROIT Principles address issues also covered by the UN Convention for Contracts on International Sale of Goods (CISG) and follow solutions found in that Convention, the supranational committee of experts constituted to devise those Principles "can be regarded as a council of 'wise men [and women]' " [more]
An EU review of Regulation of European Securities Markets was undertaken by a the Group of Wise Men (Lamfalussy Group) and completed in February 2001 [more]
In October 1999, European Commission President Romano Prodi ordered three of his most senior advisers - the so-called panel of wise men - to report on options for radical reforms to the EU's institutions as it prepares to almost double in size over the next decade [more].
The Institut für Friedens- und Bewusstseinsbildung (Basel) argues that the world needs a council of wise men and women who are capable of representing the interests of all humankind as a unified entity and articulates its structure and operations in unusual detail (see Pierre and Catherine Brunner Dubey. The World Council: A Council of Wise Men and Women, 2002)
Establishment in 2002-3 of the International Ethical, Political and Scientific Collegium as a "group of wise persons", a new institution bringing together (in the common search for the benefit of humanity) actors in the public sphere, researchers and creators ready to listen to civil society and "who accept the difficult merger of the quest for truth, beauty and justice with the exacting standards that all forms of responsibility embody" [more]
On the occasion of the 3rd Summit of the Americas (Quebec City, 2001) on the social and economic integration in the Americas, the Hemispheric Social Alliance (HSA) organized a parallel 2nd Peoples' Summit which included a 300-person "Council of Wise Women" [more]
On the occasion of an Africa Court of Women (Nairobi, 1999), a final session "heard the voices of the Council of Wise Women, the members of the jury" [more]
Organized by the Gorbachev Foundation, the first annual State of the World Forum (San Francisco, 1995) had a selected "council of the wise" (or "global brain trust") indicated that "the wisdom distilled by all faiths" must determine the values needed to guide the world into the 21st Century, namely that familiar terms must be redefined to fit the new global perspective -- and the old beliefs and political systems must be abandoned.
In Plato's Republic and Laws, he has a council of wise men and women to guide his ideal state.
Amongst the Aztecs, the Council of Wise Men was usually composed of the greatest warriors and wisest priests, themselves elected by their local "calpullis".
In North America, the nations of native peoples maintained a council of wise men

Interestingly UNESCO, despite its mandate, appears no longer to use the form -- perhaps because of the male bias. In the UNESCO Report of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty first Century chaired by Jacques Delors (Learning: the treasure within, 1996) the notion of wisdom appears only in the final phrase of his introduction, despite this statement reporting on its first session in 1991:

The worldwide issues forming the background to the Commission's thinking prompted the fundamental question whether education could purport to be universal. Could it by itself, as a historical factor, create a universal language that would make it possible to overcome a number of contradictions, respond to a number of challenges and, despite their diversity, convey a message to all the inhabitants of the world? In this language which, ideally, would be accessible to everybody and in which the maxims and views of the West would no longer be preponderant, all the world's wisdom and the wealth of its civilizations and cultures would be expressed in an immediately comprehensible form. [more]

Echoing Margaret Mead, one member of the UNESCO Commission, Karan Singh makes the point:

It is not that we lack the intellectual or economic resources to tackle the problems. Scientific breakthroughs and technological ingenuity have given us the capacity to overcome all those challenges, but what is missing is the wisdom and compassion to apply them creatively. Knowledge is expanding but wisdom languishes. The yawning chasm will need to be bridged before the end of the century if we are ever to reverse the present trend towards disaster and it is here that education in the broadest sense of the term assumes such vital importance. [more]

No guidelines appear to exist regarding the functioning of such councils to elicit most effectively the collective wisdom of their wise participants. It is unclear how the emergence of "wisdom" is recognized in such groups -- or whether the pronouncements of participants are simply accepted as "wise" because of the selection process. There appear to be no indicators or ciriteria to assist in the recognition of wisdom although, for UNESCO, this is not the case with respect to "wise practices" in dealing with resources (see Characteristics of Wise Practices 1999-2002; Wise practice criteria as an international instrument, 1999) -- although the distinction from the more widely used "best practices" is unclear. Where are the responses to the challenge articulated by Julia Atkin: "What are the powerful ideas and processes captured in human wisdom that form the basis for, and enable lifelong learning?" (Reconceptualising the Curriculum for the Knowledge Era, 1999)

On the other hand there are many who offer "wisdom" -- notably in "schools of wisdom" -- or who are "keepers" of it. It is also a traditional role of wise people. The wise are unfortunately much challenged in practice when called upon to make available that wisdom -- or to reconcile their views in response to any collective challenge faced by governance.

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Role of wisdom