Wisdom Project and Research Suggestions

Here's a list of suggestions for short term research, projects, and papers:

• For you literary types, there are abundant examples in literature of stories and novels that highlight wise and foolish characters and behavior. The famous Harold Bloom has a volume, Where Shall Wisdom Be Found? that I could loan you, but a fresh search would be useful too.

• For the business and organizational leadership students, trying looking into research on wisdom in organizational life. Behavioral economics often researches ways that we go wrong in decision making. The Dan Gilbert ted talk linked from the wiki page provides examples. Also, Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational is still pretty current.

• Science students -- note that one of our main authors, Stephen Hall, Wisdom, often highlights contemporary neuroscience research on emotions and cognition. There's more there than he's found and his book is now a few years old.

• There's a lot of psychology in the course already, but a fresh search should turn up new material that is likely to take you further than course readings.

• Students with an interest in religion and spirituality: We have had readings in the course on Yogic religion, Islam (mainstream traditions, Sikhs, Sufis, etc.), and other religious traditions. Pretty much every religion has a wisdom literature. Within Judeo-Christian tradition, you could look into Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises, The Wisdom of Ben Sira, and other so-called apocryphal books in the traditon.