The guest of our episode today is the internationally acclaimed wisdom researcher, Monika Ardelt. Monika is Professor of Sociology at the University of Florida and a Founding Faculty Member and serves on the Advisory Committee of the University of Florida’s Center for Spirituality and Health. She is widely recognized in the global wisdom research community for developing the influential Three-Dimensional Wisdom Scale (3D-WS), a pioneering tool that conceptualizes wisdom as a combination of cognitive, reflective, and compassionate dimensions. In this episode, we talk with Monika about how she came to study wisdom, what makes someone wise, and how wisdom can be cultivated across the lifespan. We explore the links between wisdom, well-being, resilience, meaning-making, spirituality, and responsibility—and whether wisdom can be taught in educational settings. Monika also reflects on the challenges of measuring wisdom across cultures and why she believes that wisdom is ultimately not something found in books, but embodied in the way we live our lives.
00:01:19 – How Monika became a wisdom researcher
00:07:00 – The story behind the 3D Wisdom Scale
00:11:32 – Is wisdom universal?
00:11:32 – Wisdom and meaning-making
00:11:32 – Can young people be wise?
00:22:30 – Can wisdom be taught?
00:25:10 – How do students respond to the university course on wisdom?
00:27:05 – On wisdom and spirituality
00:32:00 – On wisdom and responsibility
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