Abstract
A review of the etymology and transformation of wisdom in the East is presented with a particular focus on the Buddhist tradition. Although the original conceptualization of wisdom in this tradition was based on a non-split or relational epistemology, the meaning of the concept moved to a split and exclusive epistemology as the Buddhist texts were repeatedly rewritten over the years and eventually yielded dichotomies such as the personal wisdom-general wisdom split. In this chapter, a relational developmental systems perspective of wisdom is presented with synthetic and analytical modes as two poles of an inclusive psychological process. This relational framework sidesteps debates over the semantic dichotomies of personal wisdom and general wisdom by recognizing them as parts of an integrated whole; it thus facilitates legitimately related lines of wisdom research that can cooperate scientifically rather than compete semantically.
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Notes
- 1.
Whereas veda is a noun for vid, the Vedas refer to a body of ancient Hindu texts.
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Acknowledgement
I wish to thank Willis Overton at Temple University, Merle Dickhans at Northeastern Illinois University, and Revs. K. Sugawara, T. Hirako, and K. Furuyama at the Soto Institute for Buddhist Studies in Tokyo.
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Takahashi, M. (2013). Wisdom of the East and West: A Relational Developmental Systems Perspective. In: Ferrari, M., Weststrate, N. (eds) The Scientific Study of Personal Wisdom. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9231-1_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9231-1_12
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