29. What is Wisdom & Can it be Taught?

Wisdom is one of the most common stated intentions of a classical education, but what exactly is it?  Using the work of St John Henry Newman and John Ozolins, Difff and James discuss Newman's definition of it and how he saw it fitting into education. This includes the importance of a foundation of knowledge that can then be connected together to form a synthesised picture of the whole of the world, rather than experiencing the world as dissonant disconnected parts. We also discuss how this might happen in a classroom, and the importance of cultivating an atmosphere of the desire for wisdom within the staff and across the school.

Check out Difff's other podcast: Chiron, conversations about the past to help make sense of the present.

And James' other podcast: The Art of Inquiry, inquiries into the nature of the world and humanity with expert level guests passionate about their field.

Music: 'Inspiring Dreams' by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0