Practical Wisdom - Hardcover

Schwartz, Barry; Sharpe, Kenneth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1594487839 ISBN 13: 9781594487835

Publisher: Riverhead Books, 2010

Synopsis

A reasoned yet urgent call to embrace and protect the essential, practical human quality that has been drummed out of our lives: wisdom.

It's in our nature to want to succeed. It's also human nature to want to do right. But we've lost how to balance the two. How do we get it back?

Practical Wisdom can help. "Practical wisdom" is the essential human quality that combines the fruits of our individual experiences with our empathy and intellect-an aim that Aristotle identified millennia ago. It's learning "the right way to do the right thing in a particular circumstance, with a particular person, at a particular time." But we have forgotten how to do this. In Practical Wisdom, Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe illuminate how to get back in touch with our wisdom: how to identify it, cultivate it, and enact it, and how to make ourselves healthier, wealthier, and wiser.

About this title

About the Author

Barry Schwartz is the author of the acclaimed bestseller The Paradox of Choice. A frequent lecturer at conferences (TED, Gel, etc) around the world, he is the Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore College, specializing in Psychology and Economics.
Kenneth Sharpe is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Political Science at Swarthmore College where he teaches political philosophy, ethics, and political economy. His most recent book is Drug War Politics: The Price of Denial.

Reviews

In this thoughtful consideration of an Aristotelian ideal, Schwartz and Sharpe delve deeply into what it means to practice wisdom. What makes this an engrossing (and socially significant) read is not the nod to the ancient Greeks but, rather, the numerous examples of people in all facets of American life who seek wisdom in their professional and personal choices. The authors consider how mandatory sentencing has removed the element of judgment from a judge’s position, citing a heartbreaking example. As they further make the case for empathy and patience, they delve into health care, education, and the groundbreaking work being conducted in the extraordinarily successful Veterans Court in Buffalo. Repeatedly, by example, they stress the necessity of a human approach, without politics, to the issues of how we live and interact with each other. And through all of this, Schwartz and Sharpe demonstrate how relevant Aristotle is today. As surprising as it is convincing, this thoughtful work will long stay with readers, as will the many people who are profiled on its pages. --Colleen Mondor

Edition details

• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1594487839
• ISBN 13: 9781594487835
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336