Václav Břicháček, Prague - In health psychology as well as in positive psychology, the concept of human wisdom is being debated (Seligman, 2002, Seligman, Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, Snyder, Lopez, 2002, Křivohlavý, 2004 and others). For the Bratislava conference too, this is a topic that will certainly be the subject of many debates as well as empirical investigations. The orientation of psychology towards the positive aspects of the life of the individual as well as of the whole society has its long-standing roots. Simply put, there are two sources: a) The vast majority of psychological practice focuses on observing negative phenomena that appear in everyday life. Conflicts, violence, terror, forms of failure, negative emotions, etc. are observed. However, there is also an opposite pole, namely resilience, altruism, cooperation, creativity, well-being, etc. In the first years after the war, there existed on Czech radio a popular section, the "white chronicle". It was led by the then editor F. Gel and a large number of listeners contributed to it. Over time it disappeared, and today we are inundated in the media by a stream of negative information. A false image of the world and of the way of life is being created, which has a negative impact on mental hygiene as well as on the emotional feelings of society, and that already from childhood. b) To this is added today the accelerated development of the globalized world and the differing value systems of various civilizational spheres. The rapid growth of scientific and technical discoveries, the risks of biotechnology, the devastation of nature, the risks of conflicts of great civilizations, and a number of other negative moments are often connected with the demoralization of individuals as well as of interpersonal relations and with the growth of a consumerist and egoistic way of life. Attempts at a reasonable solution of the situation that has arisen take place on two levels: We observe efforts towards international agreements, which come up against the conflicting interests of various groupings and against their traditional value, legal, and organizational systems. Many rational suggestions tend not to be understood, and the search for acceptable compromises proceeds only slowly. The second path is the humanitarian focusing of attention on the human being, on the quality of his life, on upbringing, on the creation of positive emotions, and on the search for basic and generally valid moral principles and virtues. The concept of virtue is very old; we find it in ancient Greece, in all subsequent cultural epochs, in religious systems as well as in moral codes. From psychology, however, this concept has almost disappeared, and only in recent years has it been re-emerging (Baumeister, Exline, 1999, Sandage, Hill, 2001, Fowers, 2008, Fowers, Davidov, 2006). Virtue is usually understood as a certain cluster of positive, mutually interconnected qualities that can increase the individual's resilience to the risks and pitfalls of the contemporary world and create a defence against many pathological influences. Sandage and Hill (2001) arrived in their considerations at the main dimensions of virtues (see also Kebza, 2005), namely: the connection of ethics with overall health in society – the fundamental features of character – a source of the individual's resilience and maturity – the development of a meaningful view of human life – the foundation of human wisdom. Seligman (2003) analysed the most frequently cited virtues that appear in significant philosophical and religious systems. From the list thus created, by means of content analysis, he arrived at six basic virtues, namely: wisdom and knowledge – courage – love and humanity – justice – temperance – spirituality. These are abstract categories, only with difficulty usable in everyday practice and difficult to transfer into upbringing as well as self-education. A serious question arises, namely whether psychology today can move from the theoretical conception of virtues to practical action. In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics we find an inspiring model of virtuous individuals who are able to act virtuously under the most varied life circumstances. This is in a certain contrast to the frequently cited assumption that wisdom can be attained in old age. Today it is rather a matter of searching for methods of how to create and support the most appropriate forms of behaviour in various, often very complex life circumstances. At the same time, an effort is made to understand human weaknesses as well as human strengths, which are mutually intertwined. Ways are sought of how to create and support ethically adequate action and at the same time to develop the ability to proceed according to it. The concept of "practical wisdom" is used (Fowers, 2003, 2008, Schwarz, Sharpe, 2006). It is essentially the ability, in a given situation, to grasp what is essential and what is secondary, what is important and what is trivial for the decision about the choice of an activity and for its realization. It is evidently an ability indispensable for an individual of "good character". The consequence is the demanding search for what is the good and what is character. This, however, exceeds the possibilities both of a short paper and of the author's intellectual capacities. The prerequisite of practical wisdom is to understand the situations and challenges that constantly appear, to estimate the possible solutions, to find sufficient strength and motivation for the chosen activity, and to realize it with full commitment, but also with the possibility of change, should it turn out that the chosen strategy was not suitable. It is a complex process that often takes place under time as well as social pressure, and often presupposes proper deliberation, unhurried action, and the assessment of its effect. It depends on the interplay of the individual's personality, on the nature of the social circumstances, as well as on the risk of possible errors. Various models of the individual's decision-making in complex situations are considered, and suggestions appear for relatively simple but rational procedures. It is the old problem of the analysis of a large amount of often confusing information. A number of possible procedures are treated in the literature under the concept of non-linear heuristics, but it has not yet been unequivocally systematized (see Hogarth, Karelaila, 2006, Katsikopoulos et al., 2008). Of practical wisdom, Aristotle's assertion holds: "It is not possible to be good in the strict sense of the word without practical wisdom, nor is practical wisdom possible without moral virtue." It is formed from the weave of the experiences of our lives and asserts itself in concrete and often, in life, unrepeatable situations. It leads to an understanding of which virtues assert themselves in a given situation and at the same time to an assessment of one's own strengths and often also of one's own value and moral system. The prevailing direction of thinking about theories of human wisdom is indeed indispensable, but at the same time it is necessary to seek methods of how we could observe, assess, and develop the wise action of the individual. It is very difficult to analyse practical wisdom as the capacity to act well across a broad spectrum of situations and to make full use of the positive character and other strengths of the individual or social group. It is, however, a task that is taking shape before contemporary psychology and should not be postponed to future times. The quality of life cannot focus solely on the – certainly necessary – theme of ecological balance in nature, of psychophysical balance in the human being, or of socio-economic balance in society. The task will be to participate in the effort to maintain a balance between human rights and human responsibility (Krejčí, 1966). Without wisdom and the cultivation of virtues, we would remain halfway. ________________________________ The contribution was published in the proceedings of the conference ,,Psychológia zdravia - Zdravie a múdrosť. Psychológia zdravia a syndróm vyhorenia. Rodové rozdiely v zdraví". The conference took place in 2009. Compiled by: PhDr. Dušan Selko, CSc., MPH, Mgr. Róbert Ďurka, PhD. The proceedings were published with a financial contribution from the Národného ústavu srdcových a cievnych chorôb, a. s., Bratislava Publisher: Národný ústav srdcových a cievnych chorôb, a. s., Bratislava at the MAURO Slovakia s.r.o. publishing house, Bratislava 2010, ISBN 978-80-968092-6-4