Public release date: 6-Apr-2011
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-04/cu-wtw040611.php s-j.desjardins@concordia.ca
Concordia University

Bitterness can disqualify a person from being considered wise, while age is no guarantee for superior insight, according to research from Concordia

Montreal, April 6, 2011 – Revolution in Libya. Revolution in Egypt. Revolution in Tunisia. The Middle East and North Africa face unprecedented change as dictatorships crumble and people clamor for democracy.

Yet it remains unclear whether these nations will experience more equity under new regimes. The reshaping of societies raises fundamental questions that require monumental thought. "What the world needs now, especially in these times, is more wisdom," observes Dolores Pushkar, a professor in Concordia's Department of Psychology and member of the Centre for Research in Human Development.

While all nations need wise leaders, the Middle East and North Africa require sensible leaders with fresh outlooks who are in antithesis to self-serving dictators of the past. "Since wisdom is defined as something that benefits society as a whole as well as the self," continues Pushkar.

Human wellbeing and life satisfaction

Current events are on Pushkar's mind, since the bulk of her research has focused on human wellbeing and life satisfaction. And she's found wisdom plays a central role in both. "Wisdom and intelligence aren't the same thing," she points out, estimating that only 5 percent of the population can be described as truly wise and that advanced insight begins after adolescence as the brain matures.

Pushkar recently coauthored an overview on the topic, What Philosophers Say Compared with What Psychologists Find in Discerning Values: How Wise People Interpret Life. Her coauthors include Andrew Burr, Sarah Etezadi and Tracy Lyster of the Concordia Department of Psychology and Sheila Mason of the Department of Philosophy.