The Language of Wisdom Understood Through an Analysis of Wise Quotes

Abstract

Wise quotes carry advice about how to navigate life’s difficult decisions or feelings, allowing cultures to pass wisdom through generations. Qualities of wisdom have been identified by careful examination of wise individuals. Similarly, wise sayings and quotations can be analyzed and interpreted as emblematic of cultural beliefs about wisdom. The present research examines thematic and linguistic qualities of 157 wise quotes nominated as wise by 194 undergraduates. Thematic analysis of wise quotes centered on five dimensions of wisdom: Humor, Emotion, Review, Openness and Experience. Humor and Emotion were found to be the least represented while Review and Experience were the most represented. Linguistic analysis compared strong (n = 101) versus weak (n = 56) wise quotes and found that strong wise quotes were more linguistically complex and less likely to use the first-person pronouns. Analyzing the language of wisdom through quotes can provide additional insight into cultural representations of wisdom.