Wisdom and Well-Being: A Wisdom Theory Model
摘要
This chapter provides a general philosophical groundwork for the theoretical and applied normative evaluation of information generally and digital information specifically in relation to the good life for the attainment of well-being, through the overarching notion of wisdom on the basis of a theoretical normative tripartite model of Wisdom, the Dual Obligation Information Theory-Wisdom (DOIT-Wisdom) (Spence. 2011) that comprises three inter-related normative components, the epistemic, ethical and the eudaimonic, within the overarching conceptual framework. Following from the question posed in in the Introduction (Chap. 1 ) what is technology good for and specifically AI technology, the overall aim of this chapter is to address more specifically, the question of how the epistemology and ethics of information and communication technologies (ICTs), as well as the epistemology and ethics of AI technologies (abbreviated to technology, henceforth) can be expanded to include more centrally the issue of its eudaimonic impact of technology on well-being for individuals, and society. To answer that question, the chapter provides by way of a theoretical groundwork, the concept of wisdom understood as a type of meta-knowledge as well as a type of meta-virtue, which can enable us as individuals and collectively as a society, and humanity generally, to both know in principle what constitutes a good life, and how to successfully apply that knowledge as know-how in living such a life in practice, for the ultimate purpose of attaining well-being or eudaimonia. This answer will be based on the main argument presented in this chapter that the notion of wisdom understood as a triadic concept, at once a meta-epistemological, meta-ethical and meta-eudemonic, provides the essential conceptual link between information on the one hand and well-being on the other. In the digital age of information, both the theoretical examination and analysis of the question of how information in its technological construction and dissemination relates to well-being, and the provision of an adequate answer to that question are essential for developing a deeper understanding of how to evaluate the theoretical and practical implications and impact of digital information on well-being for individuals and societies.