Can We Teach People Wisdom?

Intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom are very different things. It's been said that someone with knowledge will tell you that a tomato is a fruit, but wisdom is not putting in a fruit salad. That's an example, not a definition. Someone once told me that wisdom is knowing the difference between what is important and what is not. I've always liked that. But wisdom is combination of several factors, like humility, compassion, objectivity, the ability to learn from experience, the ability to regulate one's emotions, and the ability to understand how someone else might see a situation differently. There are other elements, like the ability to adapt, question oneself, and predict the outcome of our actions. 

Philosophers have studied the meaning and value of wisdom since antiquity, and today scientists are trying to measure it. They've found that wisdom exists in all age groups, and even people who are considered wise aren't wise all the time. Can we teach wisdom? It appears that we can, at least somewhat, if the student is open to it. Read about the elements of wisdom and take a self-test of your own wisdom at Knowable magazine.