Table of Contents

Preface, Michel Ferrari & Nic M. Weststrate.- Part I: Person-based Wisdom.- Chapter 1. The Need to Distinguish Personal from General Wisdom: A Short History and Empirical Evidence, Ursula M. Staudinger.- Chapter 2. Relevance, Meaning and the Cognitive Science of Wisdom, John Vervaeke & Leo Ferraro.- Chapter 3. Personal Wisdom in the Balance, Robert J. Sternberg.- Chapter 4. The MORE Life Experience Model: A Theory of the Development of Wisdom, Judith Gluck & Susan Bluck.- Chapter 5. Neurobiological Basis of Personal Wisdom, Jeff D. Sanders & Dilip V. Jeste.- Part II: Wisdom in everyday, real-life contexts.- Chapter 6. From Persons to Positive Influences: Exploring Wisdom in Real-life Contexts, Shih-ying Yang.- Chapter 7. Stories of Wisdom to Live By: Developing Wisdom in a Narrative Mode, Michel Ferrari, Nic M. Weststrate, & Anda Petro.- Chapter 8. Religion, Spirituality, and Personal Wisdom: A Tale of Two Types, Paul Wink & Michele Dillon.- Chapter 9. Social Interpretation of Wisdom, Ricca Edmondson.- Part III: Self-transcendent wisdom.- Chapter 10. The Transpersonal in Personal Wisdom, Michael R. Levenson & Carolyn M. Aldwin.- Chapter 11. The Grinch Who Stole Wisdom, Eleanor Rosch.- Chapter 12. Wisdom of the East and West: A Relational Developmental Systems Perspective, Masami Takahashi.- Chapter 13. The Paradoxical Nature of Personal Wisdom and its Relationship to Human Development in the Cognitive, Reflective and Affective Domains, Monika Ardelt, W. Andrew Achenbaum & Hunhui Oh.- Part IV: The transformative potential of wisdom inquiry.- Chapter 14. Wisdom: Object of Study or Basic Aim of Inquiry?, Nicholas Maxwell.- Conclusion, Michel Ferrari & Nic M. Weststrate.

Reviews

This book is a valuable addition to the growing literature on wisdom. Michel Ferrari and Nic Weststrate have assembled an impressive group of contributors who between them manage to shine a variety of lights on the topic of personal wisdom. In my opinion, personal wisdom, the ability of particular individuals to lead wise lives, lies at the very heart of the study of wisdom. It is wise individuals who show us the way and inspire us, who make the subject of wisdom a living and real one. But what makes a person wise? And how are we to recognise personal wisdom? Read this book and join in the debate!

Professor Trevor Curnow, University of Cumbria