Don’t Worry: Be Wise and Happy, Study on Wisdom and Intelligence

Why do we even need wisdom? Wisdom is essential because how is the human race going to learn how to survive efficiently and fully without wisdom? How are people going to learn once you do something and get in trouble you don’t do it again, thus, making you wiser.

Throughout this chapter Goleman argues that a person’s IQ has little to do with their success in life. For example, someone with extremely high SAT scores who parties his way through college could take ten years to finally get a degree whereas a person with mediocre scores but studies diligently in college will earn his degree in four years. Emotional intelligence can be very beneficial throughout life. With the ability to understand others and the outcomes of situations puts one in a better standing when it comes to facing the “vicissitudes of life” regardless of your academic standing.

1) Wisdom is thought to be the collective and individual experience of applying knowledge to the solution of problems.

“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.” This is not only a quote by Charles Spurgeon but a philosophy that I have been trying to live by my entire life. This quote fits perfectly into this prompt because it explains how Chris was a fool. Undeniably, Chris was very knowledgeable, he graduated from one of the top universities in the country maintaining an A grade in his classes. But as the quote reads, many people know a lot and that’s what makes them fools, using knowledge for the right purpose gives someone wisdom. Essentially the quote conveys that the implementation of knowledge separates the fools from the wise. Instead of using his knowledge to help society Chris decided that he had enough of society and wanted to live on his own. Hence, Chris McCandless is a fool because he went into the wild alone and unprepared, he didn’t have knowledge of how to survive in the wilderness alone, and his personality features lead him to his death.

"There are many definitions of wisdom but one of the best understanding I have received is that wisdom is knowledge gained through suffering." - Elaine Heath

Without knowledge and wisdom the future CEOs, political figures and activists leaders would not be enlightened to be who they are today. The leaders listed above all have a few things in common: improving an aspect of life, venturing, passionate. Don’t we all have these qualities in common too? Knowledge creates a catalyst that allows people to use their knowledge and impact the world. Who wouldn't want to impact the world? Yet, possibly without knowledge Captain Sully Sullenberger would not have landed U.S. Airways flight on the Hudson, Henry Ford workers would not be able to afford his cars and Neil Armstrong would never set foot on the moon. Knowledge and wisdom increases happiness by, allowing everyone to wake up everyday knowing they’re legacy is positively impacting the

At present, humanity has vast amounts of knowledge, but still very little wisdom. Buckminster Fuller called this time our final evolutionary exam. Is our species fit to survive? Can we develop the wisdom that will allow us to use our prodigious powers for our own good, and for that of many generations to come? The question then arises: What can we do to facilitate the development of wisdom? This is where the wisdom traditions—the spiritual traditions found throughout human culture—have their value. They are often seen as simply religions, but most of the great religions were seeded by wise people, people who had, in one way or another, awoken to the deeper truths of life and then sought to share their wisdom with

Western societies believe rational thinking, making good decisions, and doing the right thing are all qualities a wise person possesses. Eastern societies believe being non-rational, humble, and understanding life in context constitutes someone who is wise. Research shows that wisdom doesn’t always come with age. Studies have concluded that not everyone develops wisdom and that young people can be wise. As studies have shown, wisdom can be predicted by one’s personality, intelligence, and life experience. Age does not necessarily bring wisdom and there is actually very little change with age.

When someone first gains wisdom, he or she will want to tell someone. Telling others of the great wisdom that someone has just gained can create a gain of knowledge for many other people. It is better to spread wisdom than to keep it to themselves. For example, if someone were to become wise in the act of studying, he or she would tell their classmates how to become more wise when it comes to studying so they can help improve their test scores. A better study method can make the testing experience easier for the students. This can overall improve test scores and efficient studying for students. Because of that one student spreading the word on how to study more efficiently, the impact it can create in a class can be beneficial. This is how imparting wisdom to others can

When one says that this elderly person has wisdom from various life experiences, he/she is not saying that the elderly person knows much about books and their profession. Instead, one would be speaking about the elderly person’s vast knowledge about what is important in life due to their multitude of experiences. While the elderly person may not be completely wise in the most encompassing form of wisdom, the elderly person does appear to have a more expansive understanding of what is important in life. Simply knowing what matters in life, however, does not satisfy the ultimate form of wisdom, for the wise must know why these things matter in life. That is, a truly wise person must have insight beyond the theoretical, into the practical. Beyond this, a wise person, in this view, must also know how to achieve what matters most, and, in knowing so, do what matters most. I say this because a truly wise person would be able to act upon what they know to be the most important thing in life. It is wiser for a person to act than to merely conceptualize what is most essential in life.

Zeus, despite having years of wisdom from his many years of life, changes his mind on whether the gods can interfere with the war. This example proves that even if one is old one can still change one’s mind. Second, wisdom, by the world’s standpoint, is not based off of age, but off of cognition among other qualities. Vivian Clayton, a neuropsychologist, did a study in the 1970’s on wisdom. After asking retired judges and law students and professors, who would have all been considered wise, she concluded that wisdom is based off of the cognition, compassion, and reflection of a person.

When talking about wisdom to someone unaware of the process to OF becoming wise, one may say that wisdom is knowing all there is to know about life; another may say that wisdom is having ultimate knowledge and insight through experience. I personally agree with Tom Robbins when he describes the six qualities needed for wisdom.

There are number of factors that contribute to the success of an individual. These factors include but are not limited to emotional intelligence, cognitive intelligence, proactive personality and level of commitment. The topics of emotional intelligence and cognitive intelligence are popular for the researchers in the last few decades (Rao 2006). There are number of notations and abbreviations used for both such as CI, IQ, EI and EQ. This essay will use the abbreviations of EI and CI for emotional intelligence and cognitive intelligence respectively. Kreitner and Kinicki (2013) refer to EI as the ability to manage oneself and social relationships in mature and constructive ways. CI is another form of intelligence that represents the

Aristotle sustains that wisdom consists in knowing the cause which made a material thing to be what it is. For Aristotle, wise people know more than just what something is; they also know why it is what it is, or what causes it to be what it is. People with wisdom, for instance, a master worker understand not only that fire is hot, but also know why it is hot. Those with experience only, who do not know why something works in a certain manner, cannot teach. Say physicians understand that there is a relationship between the medical condition of this class of patients and the ingredients in this particular drug. They are then motivated to learn why the drug works on these

Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, discusses the idea of intelligence being more than a matter of cognitive ability. In part one and two of the book, Goleman discusses how the brain processes emotions. In these chapters the author describes the cortex and the limbic system. Rationality is job of the cortex while the limbic system processes your emotions. He suggests that the emotional intelligence can be a learned skill. In the next chapter Daniel Goleman uses studies to show that many high IQ scoring students have underperformed in their lives while many average people have become huge successes. Goleman stated that if the IQ scoring has little to do with success and that your 80% success is based on your emotional intelligence.