What Is Practical Wisdom and Why Is It Important?

TL;DR

Practical wisdom combines moral will and moral skill, enabling individuals to prioritize ethical considerations in decision-making. It is essential for creating positive human interactions in workplaces and education, beyond what is outlined in formal job descriptions. Cultivating an environment that nurtures wisdom is vital for improving outcomes and encouraging moral behavior.

Transcript

In his inaugural address, Barack Obama appealed to each of us to give our best as we try to extricate ourselves from this current financial crisis. But what did he appeal to? He did not, happily, follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, and tell us to just go shopping. Nor did he tell us, "Trust us. Trust your country. Invest, invest, invest." I... Read More

Key Insights

• 🧠 The janitors' job description does not include tasks that involve interacting with other human beings, but they still go above and beyond to show kindness, care, and empathy towards patients and their families.
• 🏥 Interactions involving kindness, care, and empathy from janitors, technicians, nurses, and doctors improve the quality of patient care and enable hospitals to run well.
• 🔑 Practical wisdom, which combines moral will and moral skill, is necessary to make exceptions to rules and adapt to ambiguous and changing real-world problems.
• 🎵 A wise person is like a jazz musician, using the notes on the page but also improvising and inventing appropriate combinations for the situation and people at hand.
• 🧠 Wisdom is not solely innate, but it depends on experience, time to get to know the people being served, permission to improvise and learn from failures, and mentorship from wise teachers.
• 🖇️ Neither rules nor incentives alone are enough to ensure ethical behavior and optimal performance in organizations.
• 💼 Rigid rules and incentives can chip away at moral skill and will, undermining the opportunity to improvise, learn, and do the right thing.
• 🌍 To promote wisdom and moral behavior, it is important to celebrate and acknowledge moral exemplars, create environments that nurture moral skill and will, and teach character and respect in education.

Questions & Answers

Q: How can practical wisdom be applied in professions other than healthcare?

Practical wisdom can apply to any profession that involves interactions with others. For example, a teacher who exercises practical wisdom may choose to deviate from a prescribed curriculum to address individual student needs and foster a love for learning.

Q: How can organizations create environments that encourage moral skill and moral will?

Organizations can prioritize ethical decision-making by promoting a culture that values empathy, care for others, and moral development. They can also provide opportunities for employees to learn from their experiences and be mentored by wise leaders.

Q: Why is it important to teach character education to students?

Character education teaches students how to respect themselves, their peers, and their teachers. By embodying these values, teachers can help students develop moral skill and will, which are crucial for making ethical decisions throughout their lives.

Q: How can individuals cultivate practical wisdom in their own lives?

Individuals can cultivate practical wisdom by learning from their experiences, examining the consequences of their actions, seeking out mentorship from wise individuals, and honing their ability to make morally sound decisions in ambiguous situations.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The job description of a hospital janitor may not explicitly include interactions with others, but wise janitors understand that acts of kindness and empathy improve patient care.

• Over-reliance on rules and incentives can undermine moral skill and moral will, leading to a decrease in ethical decision-making.

• Celebrating moral exemplars, creating environments that foster moral skill and will, and teaching character education are ways to cultivate practical wisdom in work and education.