Ivan Štúr, Bratislava - I would like to clarify these three concepts in relation to psychology. Can you imagine a healthy, wise and characterful psychologist? Health is not a goal, but only a means to a good life (Jaro Křivohlavý, 2001, Psychologie zdraví). The consumption of drugs and constant fitness exercises in Slovakia say rather the opposite. Health, however, also means emotional health, or even better, to be humanly healthy, that is, to have adequate and deep enough feelings (Konrád Lorenz, 8 deadly sins – the extinction of feelings, 1990). In this sense, a healthy psychologist should be sensitive enough. Where can he find a deeper dive into the human soul than in philosophy and art? Zbyněk Vybíral (Psychologie jinak, 2006) states that poetry overtakes psychology in the exploration of the personal world. If I - as a psychologist - am interested in the meaning of a person's life, I cannot bypass philosophy, if I have a relationship with an individual, art and poetry in particular are a school of empathy. How else to understand a person without the most beautiful thing he created? In the Book of Apocrypha (Karel Čapek, 1945) we find three terms: cleverness, reason and wisdom. Cleverness is cruel to a person, reason seeks objectivity, but to say about a person that he is smart is like expressing that we like him. I have not found such a view in psychology. Trying to define wisdom is hopeless. Uršula Staudingerová (2001) writes sympathetically about this, that wise people use intellect and emotions in harmony, understand the difficulties and problems of life, can tolerate uncertainty, are flexible, playful, not rigid, etc. Although a definition of wisdom is necessary, isn't it an expression of the ability to live a good life? Does that mean cultivating yourself, cooperating and supporting other people and saving the environment? In this sense, wisdom would be an individual potential, yet a little different for everyone. I would definitely add courage, humor and the ability to empathize to the psychology of wisdom. Isn't the way of experiencing earthly time the most important characteristic of a person, best expressing his reason, feelings and will? Understanding a person means discovering what and in what direction they are wise.
Finally, character is respect for oneself, for other people (reliability in actions) and for life in general. Even in the character, the attitude towards life is clearly manifested, often in the most dramatic situations. Unfortunately, psychologists also collaborated with the Nazi (Gardista, 13.5.1943) and communist totalitarianism (Pravda, 10.6.1976), often at the expense of their own, less adaptive colleagues. Even today, we will encounter an enormously long and one-sided expert opinion, on the other hand, I am waiting for a nice article about expert opinion as therapy. Even today, a sympathetic and capable psychologist pretends to a position he did not achieve, another defends a publication he has not read. A position of power tempts you to abuse it - everyone should guard against that! Finally, the character act of the psychologist Juraj Martínek with a counter-normalistic review in the Bratislava Medical Letters (Vol. 66, No. 3, 1976, pp. 367/8).
To me, pure character without performance is empty and performance without character is dangerous. So we can find it in Jaroslav Vrchlický's congenial translation of Edmond Rostand Cyrano from Bergerac: "My fault, that's enough for me, I don't want to be liked, I prefer hate...".
The contribution was published in the proceedings of the conference ,,Psychology of health - Health and wisdom. Health psychology and burnout syndrome. Gender differences in health". The conference was held in 2009. Editor: Dr. Dušan Selko, CSc., MPH, Mgr. Róbert Ďurka, PhD. Proceedings published with the financial support of Národného ústavu srdcových a cievnych chorôb, a. s., Bratislava Publisher: National Institute of Heart and Vascular Diseases, a. s., Bratislava in the Publishing House MAURO Slovakia s.r.o., Bratislava 2010, ISBN 978-80-968092-6-4