Wisdom Dynamics and Second-Order Wisdom?

TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 22 Jun 2026

Anthony Judge | Laetus in Praesens - TRANSCEND Media Service

Speculations relevant to peace and sustainability from an artificial intelligence perspective.

Introduction

In these strange times many are preoccupied with where coherent insight might now be obtained — especially as a consequence of the dramatic erosion of trust in institutions, authorities, political parties, and religions, as well as in experts of every kind. The quest can be framed as the quest for wisdom. Surrogates are strangely to be found in the current framing of “peace”, “heaven” and “sustainability” (Paradoxes of Durable Peace, Heaven and a Sustainable Lifestyle, 2023).

The difficulty with “peace”, for example, is the multiplicity of framings and the manner in which quite disparate agendas may claim to be in pursuit of “peace” or inspired by the possibility. As with “sustainability”, vigorous complaints are made with regard to failure to achieve what it is held to imply — exemplified by the case of climate change. Very little effort is made to explore why there is such disagreement. In the case of climate change, different parties are notably held to be blameworthy.

More fundamentally, there is little investigation of the dynamics implied by a peaceful condition or a sustainable society — just as there is little insight into the dynamics of “heaven” amongst those held to inhabit it. This suggests the case for exploring how wisdom might be understood dynamically — rather than in static terms. Curiously cybernetics offers some clues in this respect through its early self-reflexive preoccupation with the “cybernetics of cybernetics” or “second-order cybernetics“. This frames the question as to whether there is a case for exploring “second-order peace” and “second-order sustainability” (Kevin Kester and Hilary Cremin, Peace Education and Peace Education Research: toward a concept of poststructural violence and second-order reflexivity, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 49, 2017, 14; Benjamin E. Goldsmith, The East Asian Peace as a Second-Order Diffusion Effect, International Studies Review, 16, 2014, 2; Christian Sartorius, Second-order Sustainability: conditions for sustainable technology development in a dynamic environment, January 2004).

The focus is occasionally recognized to be of relevance to climate change (Zeyu Ji, et al, The effects of second-order climate beliefs on environmental communication behavior: the mediating role of environmental discussion efficacy, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 107, 2025, 102746). In the light of such arguments, the question is then whether there is a case to be made for “second-order wisdom” as fundamental to “wisdom dynamics” — and how this might be understood in contrast to “first-order wisdom” as a form of “subunderstanding” (Magoroh Maruyama, Peripheral Vision: Polyocular Vision or Subunderstanding? Organization Studies, 25, 2004, 3).

Curiously the matter could be recognized in terms how wisdom was sought in civilizations of the past — exemplified by the Oracle at Delphi in Ancient Greece, and by the 147 Delphic maxims. As by sets of Zen koans, little effort is made to order such arrays in patterns of (Contrasting pattern of the traditional imperial enthusiasm for an array of 147 Delphic maxims? 2024).

To the extent that AI is now taking on a role in society somewhat analogous to that of the oracles of the past, it is appropriate to “put AI to the question” with regard to how wisdom may now be appropriately sought and framed.

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