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We all admire wise people, don't we? Whether it's a thoughtful teacher, a compassionate doctor, or an elder in the community, we recognize wisdom when we see it. But have you ever thought about how people in different cultures perceive wisdom? Does someone in Morocco view a wise person in the same way as someone in Ecuador? Our recent study explored how people across cultures think of wisdom.

This large-scale project required a joint effort of 34 researchers across fields of philosophy, psychology, anthropology, social science and psychometrics—and from all over the world, connected in a research consortium called The Geography of Philosophy.

What we found was somewhat surprising. Wisdom may appear to be shaped by cultural differences, but the core aspects of what makes someone wise are largely the same across cultures. From urban college students in Japan to villagers in South Africa, participants associated wisdom with two key characteristics: reflective orientation and socio-emotional awareness. We explain what that means below.

Contrary to widespread stereotypes, people recognize wisdom in a similar way across east and west, south and north. Despite the divisions of the world, we see wisdom in the same individuals and associate it with similar traits. Are we indeed more alike than we are different, when it comes to how we perceive wisdom? And what characterizes wise people?

These are the characteristics of wise people

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