Week 29: Wisdom

Vision

Vision pertains to scope. The wise person can see for a long distance, metaphorically. Usually the ideal is stated in reference to time but it may also be stated in spatial scope, as when a person can visualize national political strategies in a complex electorate.
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Clarity

As some people have a talent for wit, some have a talent for expressing themselves in a way that others clearly understand. Their words may not be technically precise but they convey worlds of meaning. This is the ideal of clarity in human relations.  
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Wit

If I could walk that way, I wouldn’t need the talcum powder. [Groucho Marx] At which end, my Lord? [criminal defendant responding to "Hanging Judge Jeffreys'" statement, "There's a great rogue at the end of my cane."] The ability to relate to people is a hallmark of wisdom. We can
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Perception – Depth

The wise person sees far beneath the surface. She perceives not only what is superficial and obvious but things that are hidden from most. William Shakespeare is a patron saint for this virtue, not only for his insight into the human condition but for his ability to express it through language
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Judgment – Discretion

Sound judgment is an essential characteristic of wisdom. It is the ability to weigh, soundly, competing values, alternative courses of action and different ways of looking at things. A person of judgment may be recognized for her self-assurance in the face of seemingly overwhelming amounts of information. Yet a caveat
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Subtlety

Sometimes we can discern a person’s thoughts, emotions, mood or intentions, or all of these, from a subtle clue. The great classical actor Ian McKellen illustrated this in a one-man performance on Broadway in the 1980s. While explaining how an audience can pick up on the slightest onstage movement, he
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Wisdom

The transcendent intellectual virtue is wisdom. King Solomon’s court is said to have marveled at his wisdom when he ordered the baby cut in half, knowing that would identify the mother; even if he was wrong, the only woman, of the two, fit to care for the child was the
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