The Times somewhat recently took a close look at our brains, particularly the parts that UC San Diego neurologists say are responsible for what we call “wisdom” rather than “intelligence”:
The findings, to be published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, represent a significant incursion into territory once regarded as the domain of religion and philosophy.
Dilip Jeste, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the University of California in San Diego, said: “Our research suggests there may be a basis in neurobiology for wisdom’s most universal traits.” Jeste and Thomas Meeks, his colleague, found that pondering a simple situation calling for altruism activated the medial prefrontal cortex, an area linked to intelligence and learning. However, when faced with a difficult moral judgment, the brain activated other areas including those connected with both rational thought and primitive emotions.
I imagine there’s a lot of negotiation between different brain levels going on when wisdom is involved.