Abstract

Wisdom is a unique personal attribute, mostly discussed in humanistic disciplines. Over the course of the last 30 years, the concept of wisdom has found a place in the psychological literature as well. Yet we still do not have a clear definition of it. Hence the main purpose of this article is to provide an overview of definitions of wisdom. Those proposed in the recent past can be categorized into four groupings: firstly, wisdom can be defined as a composite of competences or personality factors; secondly, it can be identified with that which counts as a positive outcome in respect of a person’s psychosocial development; thirdly, it can be regarded as a system of knowledge about the meaning and conduct of life; fourthly, it can be defined as a process emerging in real-life contexts. Finally, a very large majority of authors assume that wisdom depends on one’s having an unusually well-integrated personality structure.