Table Of ContentCAPTURING THE INEFFABLE
An Anthropology of Wisdom
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Capturing the Ineffable
An Anthropology of Wisdom
EDITED BY PHILIP Y. KAO
AND JOSEPH S. ALTER
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
Toronto Buffalo London
© University of Toronto Press 2020
Toronto Buffalo London
utorontopress.com
Printed in Canada
ISBN 978-1-4875-0313-0 (cloth) ISBN 978-1-4875-1726-7 (EPUB)
ISBN 978-1-4875-1725-0 (PDF)
_____________________________________________________________________
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: Capturing the ineffable : an anthropology of wisdom / edited by
Philip Y. Kao and Joseph S. Alter.
Names: Kao, Philip, editor. | Alter, Joseph S., editor.
Description: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20200177745 | Canadiana (ebook)
20200177796 | ISBN 9781487503130 (cloth) | ISBN 9781487517267
(EPUB) | ISBN 9781487517250 (PDF)
Subjects: LCSH: Wisdom. | LCSH: Anthropology.
Classification: LCC BD450 .C37 2020 | DDC 301.01 – dc23
___________________________________________________________________________________
Funding for the research project on wisdom and aging and a conference
entitled “Capturing the Ineffable: Wisdom in Perspective” provided by the
Office of the Provost, University of Pittsburgh.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its
publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts
Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.
Funded by the Financé par le
Government gouvernement
of Canada du Canada
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Towards an Anthropology of Wisdom 3
philip y. kao
Part One: Seeking Wisdom
1 Revelations of Delusion: Becoming Isomorphic to the Urgrund with
Philip K. Dick 27
richard doyle
2 The Social Life of the Inexpressible: English Benedictine Mysticism,
the Ineffable, and the Sublime 45
richard d.g. irvine
Part Two: Discerning Wisdom
3 How Wisdom Is Discovered: Discretion and Emotional Insights in
Naikan Meditation in Japan 67
clark chilson
4 Navigating Wisdom and Time: Reflections on Aging and
Eldercare 82
philip y. kao
vi Contents
Part Three: Transmitting Wisdom
5 Yoga and Wisdom: Reflections on the Body at the Intersection of
Epistemology and Ontology 103
joseph s. alter
6 Social Construction of Wisdom in Institutions 122
charlotte linde
Part Four: Narrating Wisdom
7 Of Uncertainty, Sophiology, and Governance: Zen and the Art of
Scenario Planning 155
james d. faubion
8 Grappling with the Ineffable in Three African Situations: An
Ethnographic Approach 179
wim m.j. van binsbergen
Contributors 243
Index 247
Acknowledgments
An intellectual project such as the anthropology of wisdom would never
be possible without a community of dedicated scholars and university
press publishers who remain faithful to the adage that knowledge is
not (only) “the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” We would first
like to thank the University of Pittsburgh’s Anthropology Department
for its support, giving this project both an intellectual and institutional
home. The project began as an international workshop-style confer-
ence entitled “Capturing the Ineffable: Wisdom in Perspective” at the
University of Pittsburgh. Over the course of two days, many ideas cap-
tured the imagination of participants and attendees. The conference
would not have been possible without the vision and support of the
University of Pittsburgh’s Office of the Provost and Office of Research.
Special thanks on this front goes to George Klinzing, who first raised
the question of wisdom’s cultural construction as a major research
initiative. The University of Pittsburgh’s Humanities Center was also
a vital supporter and sponsor of the conference’s keynote lecture by
Veena Das. Special thanks goes out to Howard C. Nusbaum, Jean
Bulware, and Brenda Huskey at the Center for Practical Wisdom at the
University of Chicago for their academic and conference support. Last,
but certainly not least and just as essential, we would like to thank the
University of Pittsburgh’s Honors College and the Asian Studies Center.
The editors would like to thank the following conference participants:
Susan Andrade, Clark Chilson, Steven Collins, Thomas Csordas, Veena
Das, Richard M. Doyle, Paul Eiss, James D. Faubion, Richard D.G.
Irvine, Charlotte Linde, Michael Puett, and Wim M.J. van Binsbergen.
Andrea Agas, Erin Baschwitz, Emily Lynn Holland, Dongbo Qiu,
Leah Siegel, and Kailey Ziemianski were enthusiastic college students
from Philip Kao’s Anthropology of Wisdom and Aging class who pre-
sented insightful research posters on wisdom during the conference.
viii Acknowledgments
The book’s index was prepared by Mike Hurley, and the editors are
grateful for his work and addition. Douglas Hildebrand was an early
admirer of the project, and it was his encouragement that paved the
way for our work with the University of Toronto Press. Our publishing
team at the University of Toronto Press, including our constant cham-
pion and editor, Jodi Lewchuck, is one of the reasons this book has
been published. Thank you. Janice Evans and Carolyn Zapf have also
been a tremendous help in getting the book polished to its final form.
Carolyn’s meticulous and thoughtful edits have helped to improve the
overall quality of this volume.
CAPTURING THE INEFFABLE
An Anthropology of Wisdom
