The scholars who researched the virtue of wisdom in Tolkien’s work most extensively are Smith, Dickerson, Markos, and Walsh. They all agree in the understanding of wisdom as an ability to discern between various choices of action, and make good decisions and judgements (Dickerson, 2003, p. 47) which combines scientific knowledge of the world with insight, intelligence, righteousness, and plain common sense (Markos, 2012, p. 84). Walsh (2015) defines it as “the ability to recognize and attain those ends that are in accord with what is truly good, and to do so using only good or proper means.” Or, in other words, it can be said that wisdom is the ability to recognize the voice of Tao in one’s heart and act in accordance with its calling. Markos states that it arises from deep understanding of the nature of God, Man and the whole universe in general, to which Walsh adds also proper understanding of one’s true capacities and limits. Smith restates it in simpler language as the ability to see things as they really are. True wisdom is not dependent on human laws, but only on objective morality, and acknowledges one’s dependence on something beyond oneself (Dickerson, p. 58). Wise judgement can often be perceived as based on intuition (precisely for the fact that the Tao is only knowable through the heart) and seem foolish because it “is tied to a steadfast belief in the ultimate justice of the cosmos [or God], even in the face of circumstances that seem hopeless,” (Walsh, 2015).
Both Markos and Walsh emphasize the necessary interconnection of wisdom with patience; a wise man always questions the truthfulness and goodness of his decisions to make absolutely sure and rule out any possibility of mistake. This is the reason why it took Gandalf so many years to determine that Bilbo’s ring was really Sauron’s lost ring. Yet while Markos asserts that rashness in reasoning destroys wisdom, Walsh admits that there are situations which call for prompt decisions, and these, if one listens to Tao and rightly evaluates all possible consequences, can prove wise nonetheless. She provides the example of Aragorn choosing to look into the Palantír. Another example is the moment when Éomer decided to let Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli go, even though he was supposed to arrest them according to the Rohhiric law. Instead he chose to do the seemingly foolish thing, but he did so believing that good acts should not be hindered.
All four scholars identify the same characters as exercising a high degree of the virtue of wisdom. The wisest is Gandalf, whom Dickerson describes as something like a Middle-earth archetype of wisdom (he does not say it directly, but reading his study gives that feeling). Tolkien referred to him as such through other characters, for instance Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam. However, Zimbardo (1968) notes that his wisdom is of slightly different character than that of the other inhabitants of Middle-earth. His wisdom is supernatural because he is a member of the Istari, the wizards, and as Tolkien in one of his letters explained, this Elvish word means “those who know” (Tolkien, 2006, p. 202). The Istari are by nature Maiar, angelic beings that were created by Eru the God before everything else and thus have an immediate knowledge of him, that means they have more knowledge of the world than anybody else in it can ever gain (save Valar). This is their task, to know and lead others to the path of wisdom by giving them advice (not by forcing them to it by exercising their supernatural power!). Nevertheless, in taking up a bodily form, a portion of that knowledge was hidden from them (as a result of the limitations of the body) and they had to re-learn and re-discover it while holding true to their mission.
Other characters associated with wisdom are Aragorn and Faramir, who learned much from Gandalf, or Frodo and Éomer, though these to a considerably lower degree.
Resources:
Dickerson, M., Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in the Lord of the Rings, 2003, Ada: Brazos Press, 2003. 234 s. ISBN 1-587-43085-1
Markos, L., On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis, 2012, Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2012. 240 s. ISBN 978-0-8024-4319-9
Smith, M. E., Tolkien’s Ordinary Virtues, 2002, Westmont: InterVarsity Press, 2002. 141 s. ISBN 0-8-308-2312-3, Ebook available at: https://books.noisetrade.com/markeddysmith/tolkiens-ordinary-virtues
Tolkien, J.R.R., The Hobbit, 2011a, London: HarperCollins, 1937. 336 pp. ISBN 978-0-261-10334-4
Tolkien, J.R.R., The Lord of the Rings: 2011, London: HarperCollins, 1954. 424 pp. ISBN 978-0-261-10357-X
Tolkien, J.R.R., The Silmarillion, 1992, London: HarperCollins, 1992. 480 pp. ISBN 978-0-261-10273-6
Tolkien, J.R.R.; Carpenter, H. (ed.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, 2006, London: HarperCollins, 1981. 502 pp. ISBN 978-0-261-10265-1
Walsh, G. P., Philosophic Poet: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Modern Response to an Ancient Quarrel. In Wood, R. C., Tolkien among the Moderns, 2015. 312 pp. ISBN 978-0-268-09674-8
Zimbardo, R. A., 1968. Moral Visions in The Lord of the Rings. In: Zimbardo, R. A.; Isaacs, N. D. (ed.), Understanding ‘The Lord of the Rings”: The Best of Tolkien Criticism, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. pp. 294, ISBN 978-0-618-42253-1