第2495期:What makes a person wise?

Think of the wisest person you know. What is it that makes them wise? What qualities do they have? Does wisdom mean the same for you as it does for me? All cultures value wisdom, but not all cultures agree on its definition. For some, the focus is on intelligence, while others emphasise compassionate love for others. In some cultures, a spiritual component is required to be considered wise. Are there any aspects of wisdom that all cultures can agree on? 

想想你认识的最聪明的人。是什么让他们变得聪明？他们有什么品质？智慧对你和对我来说意义相同吗？所有文化都重视智慧，但并非所有文化都认同智慧的定义。对于一些人来说，重点是智力，而另一些人则强调对他人的同情心。在某些文化中，需要精神成分才能被认为是明智的。智慧的某些方面是否是所有文化都能达成共识的？ 

A group of 34 researchers from all over the world and from fields like psychology, philosophy and anthropology got together to explore 'Dimensions of wisdom perception across twelve countries on five continents'. The study found two characteristics that everyone – from urban university students in Peru to villagers in rural India – associated with wisdom. 

来自世界各地心理学、哲学和人类学等领域的 34 名研究人员齐聚一堂，探索“五大洲 12 个国家的智慧感知维度”。研究发现，从秘鲁城市大学生到印度农村村民，每个人都与智慧相关的两个特征。

The first quality a wise person must have is 'socio-emotional awareness'. This is about the ability to understand others' point of view and really care about their thoughts and feelings. However, this person must also have the second quality: 'reflective orientation', which is about using logic and past experience to make judgements. If you are mindlessly driven by emotions and don't think before you act, then you are unlikely to be perceived as wise. So, if you want to be wise, learn to both keep your cool and put yourself in others' shoes. 

智者必须具备的首要品质是“社会情感意识”。这是关于理解他人观点并真正关心他们的想法和感受的能力。然而，这个人还必须具备第二个品质：“反思导向”，即运用逻辑和过去的经验来做出判断。如果你盲目地受情绪驱使，行动前不思考，那么你就不太可能被认为是明智的。所以，如果你想变得明智，就要学会保持冷静并设身处地为别人着想。 

But, while this study helps us build a more unified definition of wisdom, the world is vast and cultures vary hugely. In 'The Cambridge Handbook of Wisdom', the authors make an apple pie analogy, comparing pie to wisdom. Imagine your grandmother makes your favourite apple pie – she represents the wisdom you think is best. Now, imagine you take this apple pie to the Amazon rainforest, where apples don't grow. For the locals, the pie isn't as good as their own traditional desserts; they've grown up with different flavours and ingredients, just as different cultures have developed their own wisdom traditions. Ultimately, the way wisdom is experienced, shared, and valued depends on the cultural ingredients involved.

但是，虽然这项研究帮助我们对智慧建立了一个更加统一的定义，但世界广阔，文化差异巨大。在《剑桥智慧手册》中，作者用苹果派来比喻，将馅饼与智慧进行比较。想象一下你的祖母做了你最喜欢的苹果派——她代表了你认为最好的智慧。现在，想象一下您将这个苹果派带到亚马逊雨林，那里不长苹果。对于当地人来说，馅饼不如他们自己的传统甜点；他们是在不同的口味和成分下长大的，就像不同的文化发展了自己的智慧传统一样。最终，智慧的体验、分享和价值方式取决于所涉及的文化成分。 

词汇表

quality （人的）品质
compassionate 有同情心的
spiritual 精神上的，心灵的
anthropology 人类学
perception 认知
characteristic 特征
awareness 意识，认知
point of view 观点
reflective 反思的
logic 逻辑
judgment 判断
mindlessly 盲目地
perceive 认为，视为
keep one's cool 保持冷静
put oneself in others' shoes 从他人的角度看问题