Professional wisdom: Functions and processes of psychotherapeutic and judicial wisdom
Abstract: This research review contributes an empirically based definition of professional wisdom that can provide a starting framework for future examinations of other professions that provide similar forms of guidance. The chapter describes research on the meaning and function of professional wisdom and the ways it takes shape in our society—with an emphasis within modern Western contexts. The shepherds in the contemporary quest for wisdom may fall within professional traditions separated from one another by their disciplinary boundaries. These may include body-based practices (e.g., yoga), philosophy, psychotherapy, and legal consultation. The chapter focuses within the final two traditions. Although many of the roles that religious figures played in pre-modern times have been usurped by secular professions in our society, the study of wisdom has remained limited. This chapter examines the development and functioning of wisdom within these two disciplines in order to work toward an understanding of professional wisdom. It examines what two sets of professionals, therapists and judges, consider to be the function and process of wisdom, as well as these professionals' thoughts on how training for wisdom can best be conducted