A Critical Introduction to Wisdom, Understanding and Virtue
By pulling together an assortment of epistemological problems relating to wisdom, this critical introduction provides a guide to contemporary discussions about wisdom and related controversies in epistemology.

Beginning with its historical roots in both Eastern and Western philosophical thought, it introduces the nature of wisdom as understood by Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes as well as Buddhism. Exploring debates about the ethics of belief, it examines the nature of knowledge; intellectual virtue and humility; skepticism; the value of leisure, faith and reason, disagreement and epistemological features of forgiveness. By connecting in exciting new ways to questions about intellectual virtue and epistemic responsibility, it tackles problems such as Can a wise person have faith in God? How would a wise person handle disagreement? Concluding with an original theory of wisdom, A Critical Introduction to Wisdom, Understanding and Virtue makes a significant scholarly contribution to contemporary philosophical debates on the nature of wisdom and the ethics of belief.

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A Critical Introduction to Wisdom, Understanding and Virtue
By pulling together an assortment of epistemological problems relating to wisdom, this critical introduction provides a guide to contemporary discussions about wisdom and related controversies in epistemology.

Beginning with its historical roots in both Eastern and Western philosophical thought, it introduces the nature of wisdom as understood by Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes as well as Buddhism. Exploring debates about the ethics of belief, it examines the nature of knowledge; intellectual virtue and humility; skepticism; the value of leisure, faith and reason, disagreement and epistemological features of forgiveness. By connecting in exciting new ways to questions about intellectual virtue and epistemic responsibility, it tackles problems such as Can a wise person have faith in God? How would a wise person handle disagreement? Concluding with an original theory of wisdom, A Critical Introduction to Wisdom, Understanding and Virtue makes a significant scholarly contribution to contemporary philosophical debates on the nature of wisdom and the ethics of belief.

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A Critical Introduction to Wisdom, Understanding and Virtue

A Critical Introduction to Wisdom, Understanding and Virtue

by Sharon Ryan
A Critical Introduction to Wisdom, Understanding and Virtue

A Critical Introduction to Wisdom, Understanding and Virtue

by Sharon Ryan

Hardcover

$95.00 
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Overview

By pulling together an assortment of epistemological problems relating to wisdom, this critical introduction provides a guide to contemporary discussions about wisdom and related controversies in epistemology.

Beginning with its historical roots in both Eastern and Western philosophical thought, it introduces the nature of wisdom as understood by Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes as well as Buddhism. Exploring debates about the ethics of belief, it examines the nature of knowledge; intellectual virtue and humility; skepticism; the value of leisure, faith and reason, disagreement and epistemological features of forgiveness. By connecting in exciting new ways to questions about intellectual virtue and epistemic responsibility, it tackles problems such as Can a wise person have faith in God? How would a wise person handle disagreement? Concluding with an original theory of wisdom, A Critical Introduction to Wisdom, Understanding and Virtue makes a significant scholarly contribution to contemporary philosophical debates on the nature of wisdom and the ethics of belief.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781350021280
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 07/09/2026
Series: Bloomsbury Critical Introductions to Contemporary Epistemology
Pages: 256
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Sharon Ryan is Professor of Philosophy at West Virginia University, USA

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Why Wisdom Matters
2. Historical Perspectives
3. Intellectual Virtue
4. Intellectual Humility
5. Knowledge, Justified Belief, and Understanding
6. The Ethics of Belief
7. Deep Rationality Theory of Wisdom
8. Applications of the Deep Rationality Theory of Wisdom
Bibliography
Index

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