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8 - Why People Often Prefer Wise Guys to Guys Who Are Wise

An Augmented Balance Theory of the Production and Reception of Wisdom

from Part II - Conceptions of Wisdom

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2019

By
Robert J. Sternberg
Edited by
Robert J. Sternberg  and
Judith Glück
Robert J. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Judith Glück
Affiliation:
Universität Klagenfurt, Austria
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Summary

This chapter presents a balance theory of wisdom. It is argued that wise people have in common that they seek a common good. They do so by balancing their own intrapersonal interests with other people’s interpersonal interests and with larger extrapersonal interests. They seek the common good over the long as well as the short term, and do so through the infusion of positive ethical values. The chapter discusses the importance of wisdom for the world and why wisdom is an essential learned skill in today’s world.
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The Cambridge Handbook of Wisdom , pp. 162 - 181
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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