Speaker
Can wisdom be cultivated?
We recognise it when we see it: an elder’s timely advice, a leader’s restraint, a friend who asks the right question at the right moment. But knowing wisdom is not the same as knowing how to become wise.
Cognitive scientist Igor Grossmann argues that wisdom has two engines: cultural tools, such as proverbs, stories, and role models, that are transmitted across generations and learned over time, and the mental faculties behind sound judgement, which sharpen our use of cultural tools. The first one reminds us that no one becomes wise alone. This latter engine runs on self-distance: the ability to step back from our own thinking, sit with what you do not know, and hold competing perspectives before acting
Wisdom is after all, a practice. Not merely a result of age or experience.
The talk will then open to the audience for questions.
Speaker
Igor Grossmann
Igor Grossmann is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Waterloo, Editor-in-Chief of Psychological Inquiry, and Associate Editor of American Psychologist. His interdisciplinary research bridges philosophy, anthropology, computer science, economics, and psychology to study human judgment and wisdom. He developed the Common Wisdom Model, exploring how cultural and environmental factors shape decision-making and whether wisdom is a distinct human capacity. Grossmann is advancing the cutting edge of psychological and social sciences by pioneering the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to analyze complex narratives and societal dynamics at scale. He founded the international Wise Judgment Consortium and the Forecasting Collaborative, leveraging these computational techniques to challenge Western-centric views of decision-making. An Elected Council Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada and recipient of major awards
from the APA, APF, APS, and SPSP, he also co-hosts the On Wisdom Podcast and has lead the Futurescape and World-after-COVID initiatives.
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