Wisdom

In a deep and subtle examination of our condition, John Kekes shows how it is possible to live wisely, even when confronted with competing visions of what a good life might consist in. For Kekes, rather than assuming that there is one unitary Good over-riding all others, wisdom involves recognising our contingency while cultivating our moral imagination. This we can do by drawing on the historical and cultural traditions we inherit, as Kekes shows by a sensitive use of literature and philosophy. Kekes's achievement in his book is to intimate how each one of us, while sensitive to the demands of our own contingency and history, may transform the commonplace of our own lives, thus moving towards a form of wisdom worth striving for.

Autorentext
John Kekes was for many years Professor of Philosophy and Public Policy at SUNY Albany, and is now Research Professor at Union College, Schenectady, New York. His latest books are Enjoyment (2008), The Human Condition (2010), Hard Questions (2019) all from Oxford University Press, and How Should We Live (2014) from Chicago University Press. He was Visiting Professor in Estonia, Singapore, Hungary, Canada, Portugal, and the United States Military Academy.

Klappentext

Renowned philosopher John Kekes develops and defends a humanistic conception of wisdom as a personal attitude--one that guides how we face adversities and evaluate the often conflicting possibilities and limits of life in the context in which we live. The book is a radical departure from traditional works on wisdom. It stresses the humanistic, pluralistic, and personal aspects of wisdom. The book is a defense of philosophy as a humanistic discipline.

Inhalt

• Introduction

• Chapter 1: Human Wisdom: Initial Conception

• Chapter 2: Approaches to Wisdom

• Chapter 3: Two Assumptions

• Chapter 4: Perennial Problems

• Chapter 5: Wisdom: The Emerging Conception

• Chapter 6: Basic Assumptions

• Chapter 7: Reflective Understanding

• Chapter 8: Depth

• Chapter 9: Wisdom: The Concluding Conception

• Last Words