Conceptions of wisdom among Taiwanese Chinese.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

To merely have high intelligence is not enough, one also needs wisdom to have a good and satisfying life. At present, psychologists are still in the process of defining wisdom, with many theories emphasizing integration, embodiment, and positivity that are inherent in the concept. To fully understand wisdom, we also need to take culture into account, as several previous studies have shown that people in diverse cultures tend to define wisdom differently. While most previous studies have been conducted in the West, the present studies examine wisdom in Taiwanese Chinese culture.
The present studies aim to investigate Taiwanese Chinese conceptions of wisdom, and whether they differ from conceptions of intelligence. Two studies were conducted: Study 1 compiled a master list of behavioral attributes of a wise person from 296 adult participants, whereas Study 2 asked two additional groups of adult participants to rate the master list for either wisdom (<italic> N</italic> = 616) or intelligence (<italic>N</italic> = 202). The ratings were factor analyzed. Results show that Taiwanese Chinese have well-formed conceptions of wisdom which consist of four conceptual factors: <italic>Competencies and Knowledge, Benevolence and Compassion, Openness and Profundity</italic>, and <italic>Modesty and Unobtrusiveness</italic>. Moreover, in Taiwan, wisdom is conceived of differently from intelligence. <italic>T</italic>-tests and ANOVA were also conducted to examine differences between the intelligence and wisdom ratings, gender, education, occupation, and age. The findings revealed that male and female participants did not differ in their rating responses. However, students related the unfavorable descriptions less to a wise person than did the non-student adults. Participants who had a graduate level of education tended to associate wisdom more with positive behavioral attributes and less with unfavorable ones.
Interpretations from theoretical, empirical, and cultural perspectives were offered. A tentative definition of wisdom was proposed according to the findings. Wisdom is sketched as the integration of reasoning and behavior, embodying both symbolic and tacit knowledge, which deals with real human life in a benevolent yet profound and openminded manner that can further actualize human possibilities in a positive direction. Historical studies and in-depth interviews from a first-person perspective for actions and for effects of wisdom were suggested.