Since ancient times, the elusive¹ concept of wisdom has figured prominently in philosophical² and religious texts. The question remains³ compelling: What is wisdom, and how does it play out in individual lives? Most psychologists agree that if you define wisdom as maintaining positive well-being⁴ and kindness in the face of challenges, it is one of the most important qualities one can possess to age successfully — and to face physical decline and death.

自古以来，智慧的概念一直在哲学和宗教文献中占据了显赫的地位。相关问题至今仍难以捉摸，引人深思：什么是智慧？它在一个人的生活中发挥了怎样的作用？大多数心理学家都认同，如果智慧的定义就是在挑战面前仍可以保持积极健康和慈悲的心态，那么，可以说它是一个人能够顺利步入老年阶段，并直面体力的衰退乃至死亡所需拥有的最重要的品质。

Vivian Clayton, a geriatric neuropsychologist in Orinda, Calif., developed a definition of wisdom in the 1970s, when she was a graduate student, that has served as a foundation for research on the subject ever since. After scouring⁷ ancient texts for evocations of wisdom, she found that most people described as wise were decision makers⁸. So she asked a group of law students, law professors and retired⁹ judges to name the characteristics of a wise person. Based on an analysis of their answers, she determined¹⁰ that wisdom consists of three key components¹²: cognition, reflection and compassion¹³.

维维安·克莱顿(Vivian Clayton)是加州奥林达市的一名老年神经心理学家。在20世纪70年代攻读研究生时，她就对智慧作出了自己的定义，并在其后以此为基础就这一课题展开研究。她遍查了古籍中关于智慧的描述，发现被大多数人冠以“智者”之名的人都是决策者。于是她分别要求法律系学生、法学教授和退休法官列举出他们各自心目中智者的特征，并对他们的答案进行了分析。根据分析的结果，她认定智慧包含三个关键的组成部分：认知(cognition)、反思(reflection)和悲悯(compassion)。

Unfortunately, research shows that cognitive¹⁴ functioning slows as people age. But speed isn't everything. A recent study in Topics in Cognitive Science pointed¹⁵ out that older people have much more information in their brains than younger ones, so retrieving¹⁶ it naturally takes longer. And the quality of the information in the older brain is more nuanced. While younger people were faster in tests of cognitive performance, older people showed "greater sensitivity to fine-grained differences," the study found.

不幸的是，研究表明，认知功能运作会随着人体的衰老而减慢。但速度并不能代表一切。《认知科学论题》杂志(Topics in Cognitive Science)上最近刊登的一项研究指出，老年人头脑中的信息要多比年轻人多得多，因此要提取信息自然也就需要更长的时间。此外，老年人头脑中的信息质量也更加细致。研究发现，虽然年轻人在认知能力测试中速度较快，但老年人“对细微的差异显示出更大的敏感性”。

It stands to reason that the more information people have in their brains, the more they can detect familiar patterns. Elkhonon Goldberg, a neuroscientist in New York and author of "The Wisdom Paradox," says that "cognitive templates" develop in the older brain based on pattern recognition, and that these can form the basis for wise behavior and decisions.

按理说，人头脑中的信息越多，就越容易甄别出熟悉的模式。纽约的一名神经科学家、《智慧悖论》(The Wisdom Paradox)一书作者艾克纳恩·戈德堡(Elkhonon Goldberg)指出，在模式识别的基础上，老年人的头脑中可建立起“认知模板”，而这将为明智的行为和决策奠定基础。

According to Dr. Clayton, one must take time to gain insights and perspectives from one's cognitive knowledge to be wise (the reflective dimension). Then one can use those insights to understand and help others (the compassionate¹⁷ dimension).

克莱顿博士认为，要成为一名智者，一个人必须花费时间从认知性知识中提取出深层次的见解和观点（反思构面）。然后再使用它们来理解和帮助他人（悲悯构面）。

Working from Dr. Clayton's framework, Monika Ardelt, an associate sociology professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, felt a need to expand on studies of old age because of research showing that satisfaction late in life consists of things like maintaining physical and mental health, volunteering and having positive relationships with others. But this isn't always possible if the body breaks down, if social roles are diminished and if people suffer major losses. "So these people cannot age successfully? They have to give up?" she recalled asking herself.

从克莱顿博士的框架出发，佛罗里达大学（University of Florida，位于美国盖恩斯维尔市）的社会学副教授莫妮卡·阿尔德特(Monika Ardelt)在工作中体会到，有必要加强关于老年人的研究，这是因为研究显示，对晚年生活的满意度包含维持身心健康、不求回报付出、与他人保持积极的关系等要素。但如果一个人身体衰弱，或他承担的社会角色有所减弱，又或者他遭受了重大损失，很可能就无法满足这些要素。“那么，这些人是不是就不能安享晚年了？他们是否只能放弃希望？”她记得曾这样问自己。

Wisdom, she has found, is the ace⁵ in the hole that can help even severely¹⁸ impaired¹⁹ people find meaning, contentment and acceptance in later life.

事实并非如此。阿尔德特教授发现还有一张王牌，即使是深受重创的人，也可以藉此找到人生意义，在晚年中怡然自安，这张王牌就是智慧。

She developed a scale consisting of 39 questions aimed at measuring three dimensions of wisdom. People responding to statements on Professor Ardelt's wisdom scale — things like "a problem has little attraction for me if I don't think it has a solution," or "I can be comfortable with all kinds of people" and "I'm easily irritated by people who argue with me" — were not told they were being measured for wisdom. Respondents later answered questions about hypothetical challenges and crises, and those who showed evidence of high wisdom were also more likely to have better coping skills, Professor Ardelt found. In general, for example, they said they would be more active than passive about dealing²⁰ with hardship.

她制定了一份由39个问题组成的量表，以期衡量智慧的三重构面。在这张量表中，可以读到诸如此类的陈述：“如果我觉得某个问题根本没办法解决，那么它对我就没什么吸引力”，“我跟形形色色的人都相处得很好”，或者“我很容易被跟我争论的人激怒”等等。但她并没有告诉受访者这是一项衡量智慧水平的测试。然后，她又假设了一些挑战和危机，让受访者回答了相关问题。综合上述结果，阿尔德特教授发现，在测试中显示出大智慧的人也拥有更高明的处事技巧。譬如一般来说，他们在应对困难时心态往往更为主动积极。

An impediment to wisdom is thinking, "I can't stand who I am now because I'm not who I used to be," said Isabella S. Bick, a psychotherapist who, at 81, still practices part time out of her home in Sharon, Conn. She has aging clients who are upset by a perceived worsening of their looks, their sexual performance, their physical abilities, their memory. For them, as for herself, an acceptance of aging is necessary for growth, but "it's not a resigned acceptance; it's an embracing acceptance," she said.

心理治疗师伊莎贝拉·S·比克(Isabella S. Bick)说，总是想着“我真受不了我现在的样子，因为我跟以前简直判若两人”，这是通往智慧人生的一大阻碍。虽然已经81岁高龄，她仍时不时离开她位于康涅狄格州沙伦市的家，从事非全职的治疗工作。在她的客户中，有一些老人因自己的外貌、性能力、体力或记忆力不如以往而大感沮丧。对于他们（以及她自己）而言，接受衰老是成长的必要条件，她说，但“这不是听天由命的不得已而为之；而是欣然地接受自然规律”。

"Wise people are able to accept reality as it is, with equanimity," Professor Ardelt said. Her research shows that when people in nursing homes or with a terminal illness score high on her wisdom scale, they also report a greater sense of well-being. "If things are really bad, it's good to be wise," she said.

“智者能够接受现实本来的面目，并泰然处之，”阿尔德特教授说。她的研究显示，住在养老院的人或绝症患者的智慧量表得分较高，他们所报告的幸福感也较强。“如果现实已经够糟糕了，保持明智就更加重要，”她说。

The Berlin Wisdom Project, a research effort begun in the 1980s that sought to define wisdom by studying ancient and modern texts, called it "an expert knowledge system concerning the fundamental pragmatics of life." A co-founder of the project, Ursula M. Staudinger, went on to distinguish between general wisdom, the kind that involves understanding life from an observer's point of view (for example, as an advice giver), and personal wisdom, which involves deep insight into one's own life.

“柏林智慧项目”(Berlin Wisdom Project)是一项于20世纪80年代启动的研究，该项目通过研读古代和现代的文献，将智慧定义为：“关于生活基本实用领域的专业知识体系。”该项目的创始人之一，厄休拉·M·斯托丁格(Ursula M. Staudinger)还进一步将其区分为一般智慧和个人智慧，前者指从观察者（比方说，从一个提供建议的外人）的角度来认识生命，后者指深入洞察自己的人生。

True personal wisdom involves five elements, said Professor Staudinger, now a life span psychologist and professor at Columbia University. They are self-insight; the ability to demonstrate personal growth; self-awareness²¹ in terms of your historical era and your family history; understanding that priorities and values, including your own, are not absolute; and an awareness of life's ambiguities²².

现任美国哥伦比亚大学(Columbia University)生涯发展心理学家的斯托丁格教授表示，真正的个人智慧包括五个要素，分别为：自我洞察力；证明个人成长的能力；对所处的历史时代和家族史的自我意识；认识到凡事（包括你自己）的先后缓急和价值都不是绝对的；认识到生活中充满了不确定性。

Wisdom in this sense is extremely rare, Professor Staudinger said, and research has shown that it actually declines in the final decades. As a coping strategy, it is better to be positive about life when you are older, she said, and the older people skew that way. They are more likely to look back on their lives and say that the events that occurred were for the best; a wise person would fully⁶ acknowledge mistakes and losses, and still try to improve.

斯托丁格教授说，满足上述意义的智慧实际上极为罕见，而且研究表明，在人生的最后几十年它还会呈下降趋势。她说，应对策略之一是在晚年也要尽量保持积极的生活态度，这样才可能逆转这一趋势。智慧的老年人更有可能回过头去审视他们的生活，并认可迄今所发生的所有事情都是为了追求最好的结果；他们勇于承认自己的错误和损失，并始终尽自己所能去改善现状。

True wisdom involves recognizing the negative both within and outside ourselves and trying to learn from it, she said.

她补充道，真正的智慧包括认识到自己内外部的负面因素，并试图从中汲取教训。

Modern definitions of wisdom tend to stress kindness — even if it's not on the order of Buddha²³, Gandhi or the ** Lama. Wisdom is characterized by a "reduction in self-centeredness," Professor Ardelt said. Wise people try to understand situations from multiple perspectives, not just their own, and they show tolerance²⁴ as a result.

智慧的现代定义往往更强调慈悲——尽管佛陀、甘地和达赖喇嘛的教诲中并没有这么一条。智慧的显著特点在于“减少自我中心”，阿尔德特教授说。智者会尝试从多个角度而不仅从他们自己的立场来了解情况，因此表现得更加宽容。

"There's evidence that people who rank high in neuroticism²⁵ are unlikely to be wise," said Laura L. Carstensen, a psychology²⁶ professor and founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity²⁷ in California. "They see things in a self-centered and negative way and so they fail to benefit emotionally from experience, even though they may be very intelligent."

“有证据表明，神经质指数偏高的人不太可能会很明智，”加州斯坦福长寿研究中心(Stanford Center on Longevity in California)的创始主任、心理学教授劳拉·L·卡斯滕森(Laura L. Carstensen)说：“他们以自我中心和消极的方式来看待世界，所以他们无法从经验中获得情感层面上的效益——即使他们可能相当聪明。”

Professor Carstensen does not consider herself a wisdom researcher because "there's a piece of me that thinks it's not useful to use a term that's been around for 1,000 years." Some researchers are skeptical²⁸ about testing for such an amorphous²⁹ trait as wisdom.

卡斯滕森教授并不认为自己是一名“智慧”的研究人员，因为“在我心里，总有个小小声音说：使用一个已经有1000来年历史的术语没什么用处。”还有一些研究人员对检测像智慧这样含糊的特性持怀疑态度。

But Professor Carstensen does study emotional regulation, and says that is a key component¹¹ of wisdom.

但卡斯滕森教授对情绪调节也进行了研究，并表示这是智慧的一个重要组成部分。

If you are wise, she said, "You're not only regulating your emotional state, you're also attending to another person's emotional state." She added: "You're not focusing so much on what you need and deserve, but on what you can contribute."

作为智者，“你不仅要有能力调节自己的情绪状态，还要能顾及他人的情绪状态。”她接着补充道：“你不会对自己需要或应得的东西斤斤计较，反之，你更在乎可以做出什么贡献。”

Daniel Goleman, author of "Focus" and "Emotional Intelligence," said, "One aspect of wisdom is having a very wide horizon which doesn't center on ourselves," or even on our group or organization.

专注力》(Focus)和《情商》(Emotional Intelligence)的作者丹尼尔·戈尔曼(Daniel Goleman)认为，“智慧的特征之一是拥有宽广的见识，且并不以自己”甚至自己所在的团体或组织为中心。

He said an important sign of wisdom was "generativity,” a term used by the psychologist Erik Erikson, who developed an influential³⁰ theory on stages of the human life span. Generativity means giving back without needing anything in return, Dr. Goleman said. The form of giving back could be creative, social, personal or financial, and "the wisest people do that in a way that doesn't see their lifetime as limiting when this might happen,” he said.

心理学家埃里克·埃里克松(Erik Erikson)提出了人生社会心理发展阶段这一影响深远的理论，他还使用“慷慨”这一术语来形容智慧。戈尔曼博士说，“慷慨”是智慧的一个重要标志，它表示不求回报的付出。付出的形式多种多样，可以是创造力方面的，社会意义上的，个人角度上的，也可以是经济层面上的，此外，“智者还认为，生有涯，贡献却无涯，”他说。

Dr. Goleman interviewed Erikson, along with his wife, Joan, in the late 1980s, when both were in their 80s. Erikson's theory of human development had initially³¹ included eight stages, from infancy³² to old age. When the Eriksons themselves reached old age, though, they found a need to add a ninth stage of development, one in which wisdom plays a crucial role. "They depict³³ an old age in which one has enough conviction in one's own completeness to ward³⁴ off the despair that gradual physical disintegration³⁵ can too easily bring," Dr. Goleman wrote in The Times.

20世纪80年代后期，戈尔曼博士采访了年已八旬的埃里克松及其妻子琼(Joan)。最初，埃里克松的人生社会心理发展理论包括从幼年直至老年的八个阶段。然而，当埃里克松夫妇自己迈入老年之后，他们发现还需要补充第九个发展阶段，且智慧在这一阶段里发挥着至关重要的作用。“他们描绘了这样的一种晚年图景：老年人对自己身心的完善充满了自信，这种信心足以抵挡因身体逐渐衰老所带来的绝望情绪，”戈尔曼博士在《纽约时报》上写道。

In the final years of life, "Even the simple activities of daily living may present difficulty and conflict," Joan Erikson wrote in an expanded version of her husband's book, "The Life Cycle Completed." "No wonder elders become tired and often depressed³⁶." The book adds: "To face down despair with faith and appropriate humility³⁷ is perhaps the wisest course."

到了暮年，“即便是日常生活中的简单活动也可能成为难题，”琼·埃里克松在她丈夫的著作《生命周期的完成》(The Life Cycle Completed)的扩展版中写道。“无怪乎老年人开始感到疲惫，时而觉得沮丧。”这本书补充道：“以信念和适度的谦逊来面对绝望或许是最明智的选择。”

"One must join in the process of adaptation. With whatever tact³⁸ and wisdom we can muster³⁹, disabilities must be accepted with lightness and humor."

“适应是每个人都必须迈进的过程。我们要调动起所有的机敏和智慧，以轻松和幽默的态度来接受残障。”

Whatever the nature of one's limitations, simplifying one's life is also a sign of wisdom, Dr. Clayton said, for example, by giving your things away while you are still alive. Some people have trouble with the idea of settling for less — "they've gotten so used to the game of acquiring more," she said.

无论有着怎样的局限性，都能够将复杂的生活简单化，例如，在你仍然活着的时候主动放手也是智慧的一个标志，克莱顿博士说。有些人对“知足常乐”这种想法并不买账——“他们已经太过于习惯不断索取，”她说。

Settling for less and simplifying is not the same as giving up. In fact, when older people lack challenges, self-absorption and stagnation⁴⁰ may take over, the Eriksons said. The key is to set goals that match one's current capacities.

知足常乐和简单生活不等同于放弃。埃里克松解释道，事实上，老年人在缺乏挑战时，“自我专注”(self-absorption)就可能占据他人生的主导地位，人也会随之变得死气沉沉。设定符合自己现有能力的目标非常关键。

Continuing education can be an important way to cultivate wisdom in the later years, researchers say, for one thing because it combats isolation⁴¹. But training in practical skills may be less useful for older people than courses in the humanities that help people make sense of their lives, Professor Ardelt says. She and other researchers recommend classes in guided autobiography⁴², or life review, as a way of strengthening wisdom. In guided autobiography, students write and share their life stories with the help of a trained instructor⁴³.

研究人员称，接受继续教育可作为老年人培养智慧的重要途径，其原因之一是它可以使人不再那么孤独。阿尔德特教授说，不过对于老年人来说，引导人们如何更有意义地生活的课程可能比实际操作技能的培训更加有用。她和其他研究人员建议老年人参加“引导性自传”(guided autobiography)或“生命回顾”(life review)之类的课程，以增进智慧。在“引导性自传”课程中，受过专业培训的指导人员将帮助学生们撰写并分享他们的人生故事。

Dr. Clayton says there's a point in life when a fundamental shift occurs, and people start thinking about how much time they have left rather than how long they have lived. Reflecting on the meaning and structure of their lives, she said, can help people thrive after the balance shifts and there is much less time left than has gone before.

克雷顿博士指出，这一刻，人生发生了根本性转变：人们开始思考他们的生命还剩下多少时间，而不是已经过去了多久。反思自己生活的意义和安排，可以帮助人们自如地应对这种重心的转移，享受人生最后的夕阳红。