Through the Dabrowski Lens: Wisdom, Transformational Giftedness, and the Personality Ideal

This chapter examines the concept of wisdom and transformationally gifted individuals through the lens of Kazimierz Dąbrowski’s five-level Theory of Positive Disintegration. This is a grand theory of personality development which has at its core, the concept of multilevelness and the process of positive disintegration that, for some people, helps them establish, and move toward, their own personality ideal. According to Dąbrowski, as an individual attains a higher level of development, they experience developmental dynamisms that stimulate behavioural and emotional transformation. They will be less concerned with mindlessly conforming to societal norms, and will experience the emergence of true empathy, ethical behaviour, and a strong hierarchy of values that may culminate in a sense of universal compassion and harmony.

If we, as educators, used an understanding of the principles underpinning multilevelness, as Dąbrowski describes, to identify and support transformationally gifted individuals as they develop ethical wisdom and strive towards their own personality ideal, we would contribute to a more just, more creative, and more meaningful world. This would be a world where there are more people who are equipped with the capacities to appreciate, identify, and solve problems facing the world. The nuances of these processes and interactions are explored in this chapter, along with a consideration of the implications for educators of the gifted.