This chapter discusses how to cultivate wisdom. First, it discusses why people are not wise, mainly, because they are susceptible to foolishness through eight fallacies.

1. 1. The fallacy of unrealistic optimism.

2. 2. The fallacy of egocentrism.

3. 3. The fallacy of false omniscience.

4. 4. The fallacy of false omnipotence.

5. 5. The fallacy of false invulnerability.

6. 6. The sunk-cost fallacy.

7. 7. The fallacy that ignorance is bliss.

8. 8. The fallacy of confirmation (myside) bias.

The chapter then discusses principles of teaching for wisdom.

1. 1. Seek a common good.

2. 2. Balance one’s own with others’ interests and with higher order interests.

3. 3. Seek to infuse positive ethical values.

Contemporary politics provides numerous examples in which people fail to use critical thinking skills. There are many obstacles to critical thinking including, overconfidence, obsession with fantasies, and disregard for the truth, among others. To help students develop their critical thinking skills, universities need to be sure that critical thinking is being taught and that it is valued. Instructors need to use real-life examples that are relevant to their students’ lives, and teach students to recognize and overcome the many obstacles to critical thinking. Individuals can improve how they think about political issues by listening to diverse viewpoints, becoming informed about political issues, rewarding politicians who compromise to reach a goal, breaking down echo chambers, and valuing evidence-based thinking.