ABSTRACT
This chapter starts by discussing possible dangers involved in creating practical pedagogies based on principles, ideas, and ideals, while at the same time advocating the will to wisdom as a central ideal in this book. A methodological discussion follows. Drawing on Aristotle, experimental quantitative research methods aimed at generalizability and replicability, is contrasted with phenomenological and hermeneutical qualitative methodologies aimed at interpretation singular cases and of existential and ethical phenomena such as wisdom. The methods applied in the work that this book is building on, is presented as a “middle way”. The discussion leads to the presentation of the Dialogos six-dimensional map for wisdom-oriented pedagogy. The chapter further discusses the development of wisdom oriented pedagogies underlying and preceding the Dialogos approach. Included are phenomenological developmental work in the contexts of secondary education, family work at a psychiatric hospital, multicultural and multi-religious upper secondary schools, and finally in higher education contexts.
