Wisdom: A Skill Theory

by Cheng-hung Tsai

Overview

What is wisdom? What does a wise person know? Can a wise person know how to act and live well without knowing the whys and wherefores of his own action? How is wisdom acquired? This Element addresses questions regarding the nature and acquisition of wisdom by developing and defending a skill theory of wisdom. Specifically, this theory argues that if a person S is wise, then (i) S knows that overall attitude success contributes to or constitutes well-being; (ii) S knows what the best means to achieve well-being are; (iii) S is reliably successful at acting and living well (in light of what S knows); and (iv) S knows why she is successful at acting and living well. The first three sections of this Element develop this theory, and the final two sections defend this theory against two objections to the effect that there are asymmetries between wisdom and skill.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009222907
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/19/2023
Series:	Elements in Epistemology
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. A Skill Theory of Wisdom Presented: 1. Wisdom as knowing how to live well; Part II. The Theory Developed: 2. Wisdom and knowing the whys; 3. Wisdom and knowing what matters; Part III. The Theory Defended: 4. The deliberation objection: deliberation about final ends; 5. The feedback objection: feedback for skill acquisition; Conclusion; Appendix; References.