Understanding Wisdom: Sources, Science and Society (Laws of Life Symposia Series Number 3) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1890151300 ISBN 13: 9781890151300

Verlag: TEMPLETON FOUNDATION PR, 2000

Inhaltsangabe

Sheds light on the age-old question: What is wisdom and where does it come from? This book also presents research on brain functioning, drawn from observing individuals with damage to specific neural areas, to suggest the importance of integration between hemispheres of the brain to comprehend complex situations in a way that may be termed wise.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Brown is director of the Travis Institute for Biopsychosocial Research and Professor of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary. Since 1982, he has been an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry at U.C.L.A. School of Medicine.

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Understanding Wisdom

Sources, Science, & Society

By Warren S. Brown

TEMPLETON PRESS

Copyright © 2000 Templeton Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-890151-30-0

Contents

Preface....................................................................
ix
Introduction: A Hierarchical Framework for Understanding Wisdom Nancey 
Murphy.....................................................................
1
Part I: The Sources of Wisdom..............................................
1. The Sources of Wisdom R. E. Clements...................................
15
2. Profundity with Panache: The Unappreciated Proverbial Wisdom of 
Sub-Saharan Africa Stan W. Nussbaum.......................................
35
3. "A House Divided": From Biblical Proverb to Lincoln and Beyond 
Wolfgang Mieder............................................................
57
4. Israel's Wisdom Literature and the Intrinsic Integrity of Creation 
Dianne Bergant.............................................................
103
5. Wisdom on Death and Suffering John Goldingay...........................
121
6. It Takes Wisdom to Use Wisdom Wisely Robert K. Johnston................
135
Part II: The Science of Wisdom.............................................
7. Wisdom Traditions as Mechanisms for Organismal Integration: 
Evolutionary Perspectives on Homeostatic "Laws of Life" Jeffrey P. 
Schloss....................................................................
153
8. Wisdom and Human Neurocognitive Systems: Perceiving and Practicing the 
Laws of Life Warren S. Brown..............................................
193
9. A Neurolinguistic Perspective on Proverbs and the Laws of Life Diana 
R. Van Lancker.............................................................
215
10. On the Emergence of Wisdom: Expertise Development John L. Horn and 
Hiromi Masunaga............................................................
245
11. The Science of Art: How the Brain Responds to Beauty V.S. 
Ramachandran...............................................................
277
12. A Scientific Study of Wisdom (Or Its Contributing Parts) Warren S. 
Brown......................................................................
307
Part III: The Learning of Wisdom...........................................
13. Wise Emotions Nancy Sherman...........................................
319
14. Setting the Stage for the Development of Wisdom: Self-understanding 
and Moral Identity During Adolescence William Damon.......................
339
15. Lessons Learned: The Role of Religion in the Development of Wisdom in 
Adolescence James L. Furrow and Linda Mans Wagener........................
361
16. Maxims to Live By: The Art and Science of Teaching Wise Sayings 
Arthur J. Schwartz and F. Clark Power......................................
393
17. Seeing Wisely—Learning to Become Wise Lawrence M. Hinman..............
413
Contributors...............................................................
425
Name and Subject Index.....................................................
429
Scripture Index............................................................
443

CHAPTER 1

The Sources of Wisdom

R. E. Clements

The issue that we are confronted with is primarily that of determiningthose features of human experience that provide aresource for understanding the nature of life. What features ofthe world and what aspects of the human condition provide the bestsource from which the larger whole can be understood? It is partly aquestion of perception and partly one of evaluation. The immediatetask in this chapter is to consider those biblical writings that have beenclassed as the products of the ancient Israelite search for wisdom, understoodas a particular method of study and instruction (see Crenshaw,1998a and b; Whybray, 1974; and Clements, 1991).

We can begin by noting the writings that have been classed as belongingto the biblical wisdom tradition. Three books from the Hebrewcanon are customarily classed as belonging here: namely Proverbs, Job,and Ecclesiastes (Koheleth). In the Old Testament Apocrypha two furtherbooks belong to this category, Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sira) and theWisdom of Solomon (see Collins, 1997). Both of these writings showextensive features of Hellenistic influence, the latter especially so, althoughmuch of the Hebrew original of Ben Sira has been recovered. Both Joband Ecclesiastes have highly distinctive features, the former because it isan extensive poem dealing with the problems of theodicy—justifyingthe ways of God to human beings in face of the fact of undeservedhuman suffering. Ecclesiastes is highly distinctive because it is the workof a single author, who gives his personal perspective, even though thisis heavily steeped in the language and traditions of wisdom. It turnsvery brilliantly the searchlight of wisdom's methods and aims upon theaccrued teachings of wisdom itself, questioning some of them, and repudiatingothers. The author has accordingly been categorized as rebel,cynic, and nihilistic pessimist, although in truth he can certainly bedefended from all three labels. It appears that the writer of Ecclesiasteswas essentially following the wisdom method of citing received teachingand subjecting this to critical review in the face of carefully observedexperience.

Clearly the Book of Proverbs holds the key to understanding themost basic forms of ancient Israelite wisdom. Yet even here a littleshrewd detective work is of considerable help, since the book is composedof material couched in different forms and styles. Prov. 10:1–24:34consists for the most part of short epigrammatic sayings—usually two-linecouplets set in poetic rhythm—that describe in declarative fashionthe moral and social "facts of life." This is achieved by pointing out theconsequences of particular acts and attitudes, regarding them as leadinginevitably to good or bad results in a kind of causal process:

The wage of the righteous leads to life,the gain of the wicked to sin.

—Prov. 10:16

Sometimes the teaching is affirmed by characterizing types of behaviorwith the help of comparisons and metaphors that show their dangeror foolishness, and often exaggerate their consequences:

Laziness brings on deep sleep;an idle person will suffer hunger.

—Prov. 19:15

The aim is evidently to encourage and advocate what are regarded asgood attitudes and actions, which preserve family life, uphold the economicstrength of the household by hard work and prudence in financialaffairs, and to discourage violent and irresponsible social behavior:

An ally offended is stronger than a city;but quarrelling is like the bars of a castle.

—Prov. 18:19

Not a little humor and artistic skill is employed in making the exhortationsmemorable and interesting, overcoming the hearer's presumedresistance to what is demanded, and generally giving...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: TEMPLETON FOUNDATION PR
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2000
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1890151300
• ISBN 13: 9781890151300
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 1
• Herausgeber: Brown Warren Jr.
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar