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From Knowledge to Wisdom argues that there is an urgent need, for both intellectual and humanitarian reasons, to bring about a revolution in science and the humanities. The outcome would be a kind of academic inquiry rationally devoted to helping humanity learn how to create a better world. The basic intellectual aim of inquiry would be to seek and promote wisdom - wisdom being the capacity to realize what is of value in life for oneself and others, thus including knowledge and technological know-how, but much else besides. * "There are altogether too many symptoms of malaise in our science-based society for Nicholas Maxwell's diagnosis to be ignored." Professor Christopher Longuet-Higgins, Nature. * "a strong effort is needed if one is to stand back and clearly state the objections to the whole enormous tangle of misconceptions which surround the notion of science to-day. Maxwell has made that effort in this powerful, profound and important book." Dr. Mary Midgley, University Quarterly. * "The essential idea is really so simple, so transparently right ... It is a profound book, refreshingly unpretentious, and deserves to be read, refined and implemented." Dr. Stewart Richards, Annals of Science. This second edition is revised throughout, has additional material and three new chapters.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very important book: A "must" for relevant audiences,
By
This review is from: From Knowledge to Wisdom: A Revolution for Science and the Humanities (Paperback)
Any philosopher or other person who seeks wisdom should read this book. Any educator who loves education--especially those in leadership positions--should read this book. Anyone who wants to understand an important source of modern human malaise should read this book. And anyone trying to figure out why, in a world that produces so many technical wonders, there is such an immense "wisdom gap" should read this book. In "From Knowledge to Wisdom: A Revolution for Science and the Humanities," Second Edition, British philosopher Nicholas Maxwell presents a compelling, wise, humane, and timely argument for a shift in our fundamental "aim of inquiry" from that of knowledge to that of wisdom. To appreciate the bare essence of Maxwell's conclusion, one need only consult a good dictionary and reflect on the state of the world today. But, the book helps bring the problem to life and presents a compelling rationale for the shift. Indeed, the essential argument of the book "rings true" (and loudly so) in light of what's going on in the world today on many dimensions. Maxwell argues that the highest priority of inquiry--the "aim" of inquiry--should be to help humans realize (including achieve) "what is of value in life" in a broad sense of that phrase and in ways that are themselves subject to continuing assessment and improvement as wisdom and knowledge progress. For example, rather than claiming to seek "truth" primarily for the sake of knowledge itself, we should, Maxwell argues, place a higher priority on seeking understanding, and corresponding action, aimed at helping humans actually realize "what is of value in life." The book is not simply or even primarily an emotional plea: Instead, the argument is based in reason, rationality, an analysis of shortcomings of current approaches, and wisdom. The book does not argue for wisdom-without-knowledge (as if there were such a thing for humans). It argues, instead, that a priority should be placed on wisdom and, within that broader context--and as one key element of it--on the acquisition of knowledge that serves the higher priority of wisdom and, in so doing, serves the aim mentioned above. Nor is the book's message relativistic in the sense of "everything is equally true" or "anything goes." In fact, the book reflects a deep appreciation for empirical discovery and practicality. That said, the book makes the very healthy argument, among others, that the aims and assumptions of inquiry, in general, should be made explicit and should be subject to ongoing assessment and improvement. In a very helpful way, Maxwell uses the phrases "philosophy of wisdom," "philosophy of knowledge," "aim-oriented rationality," "standard empiricism," and "aim-oriented empiricism" to clarify concepts and express his argument. That said, given the immense importance of the topic, I could not possibly do it justice by trying to summarize Maxwell's compelling argument here. "From Knowledge to Wisdom" is for the open-minded wisdom-seeker but perhaps not for the faint of heart. Maxwell sheds light on--and seeks to correct and improve--some key unexamined or under-examined assumptions that influence academia, scientific pursuit, and global well-being. Mary Poppins might have added a bit more sugar, but that's Mary Poppins. In short, my recommendation: Read this book!
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What Critics Said about the First Edition (Blackwell, 1984),
By Nicholas Maxwell (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: From Knowledge to Wisdom: A Revolution for Science and the Humanities (Paperback)
From Knowledge to Wisdom argues that there is an urgent need, for both intellectual and humanitarian reasons, to bring about a revolution in science and the humanities. The outcome would be a kind of academic inquiry rationally devoted to helping humanity learn how to create a better world. Instead of giving priority to solving problems of knowledge, as at present, academia would devote itself to helping us solve our immense, current global problems - climate change, war, poverty, population growth, pollution of sea, earth and air, destruction of natural habitats and rapid extinction of species, injustice, tyranny, proliferation of armaments, conventional, chemical, biological and nuclear, depletion of natural resources. The basic intellectual aim of inquiry would be to seek and promote wisdom - wisdom being the capacity to realize what is of value in life for oneself and others, thus including knowledge and technological know-how, but much else besides.
This second edition has been revised throughout, has additional material, a new introduction and three new chapters. What critics said about the first edition of From Knowledge to Wisdom "Maxwell is advocating nothing less than a revolution (based on reason, not on religious or Marxist doctrine) in our intellectual goals and methods of inquiry ... There are altogether too many symptoms of malaise in our science-based society for Nicholas Maxwell's diagnosis to be ignored." Professor Christopher Longuet-Higgins, Nature. "a strong effort is needed if one is to stand back and clearly state the objections to the whole enormous tangle of misconceptions which surround the notion of science to-day. Maxwell has made that effort in this powerful, profound and important book." Dr. Mary Midgley, University Quarterly. "The essential idea is really so simple, so transparently right ... It is a profound book, refreshingly unpretentious, and deserves to be read, refined and implemented." Dr. Stewart Richards, Annals of Science. "Maxwell's book is a major contribution to current work on the intellectual status and social functions of science ... [It] comes as an enormous breath of fresh air, for here is a philosopher of science with enough backbone to offer root and branch criticism of scientific practices and to call for their reform." Dr. David Collingridge, Social Studies of Science. "Maxwell has, I believe, written a very important book which will resonate in the years to come. For those who are not inextricably and cynically locked into the power and career structure of academia with its government-industrial-military connections, this is a book to read, think about, and act on." Dr. Brian Easlea, Journal of Applied Philosophy. "This book is a provocative and sustained argument for a 'revolution', a call for a 'sweeping, holistic change in the overall aims and methods of institutionalized inquiry and education, from knowledge to wisdom' ... Maxwell offers solid and convincing arguments for the exciting and important thesis that rational research and debate among professionals concerning values and their realization is both possible and ought to be undertaken." Professor Jeff Foss, Canadian Philosophical Review "Wisdom, as Maxwell's own experience shows, has been outlawed from the western academic and intellectual system ... In such a climate, Maxwell's effort to get a hearing on behalf of wisdom is indeed praiseworthy." Dr. Ziauddin Sardar, Inquiry "Maxwell's argument ... is a powerful one. His critique of the underlying empiricism of the philosophy of knowledge is coherent and well argued, as is his defence of the philosophy of wisdom. Most interesting, perhaps, from a philosophical viewpoint, is his analysis of the social and human sciences and the humanities, which have always posed problems to more orthodox philosophers, wishing to reconcile them with the natural sciences. In Maxwell's schema they pose no such problems, featuring primarily ... as methodologies, aiding our pursuit of our diverse social and personal endeavours. This is an exciting and important work, which should be read by all students of the philosophy of science. It also provides a framework for historical analysis and should be of interest to all but the most blinkered of historians of science and philosophy." Dr. John Hendry, British Journal for the History of Science "Nicholas Maxwell (1984) defines freedom as 'the capacity to achieve what is of value in a range of circumstances'. I think this is about as good a short definition of freedom as could be. In particular, it appropriately leaves wide open the question of just what is of value. Our unique ability to reconsider our deepest convictions about what makes life worth living obliges us to take seriously the discovery that there is no palpable constraint on what we can consider." Professor Daniel Dennett, Freedom Evolving
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Sadly disappointing,
By Gordon Fuller - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: From Knowledge to Wisdom: A Revolution for Science and the Humanities (Paperback)
As a layman in philosophy and related works, I make no claim to be comfortable with many of the terms in this book. If you understand the implications of such concepts as "infallible heuristic empiricism", "aprioristic empiricism", "standard theoretical pluralism", and many others (assuming they weren't coined by the author for this book), then I suggest you ignore my lowbrow interpretation, purchase the book and decide for yourself on a rating.
For a layman, however, this book is an opportunity wasted. From the first pages the author takes a bitter tone, focusing on academic score-settling for those who reviewed the first edition badly. Is wisdom so petty? To give him the benefit of the doubt, perhaps there is far more difficulty than we know in simply proposing that people involved in either "pure" research or policy decisions should take responsibility for the outcome of their quest for knowledge. But move beyond it, quickly! Most of the 400+ pages take up the cudgel for encouraging what he calls Aim-Oriented Empiricism (AOE), the shorthand for directing both enquiry and activity with regard for the consequences on improving human life and existence. For me at least he is preaching to the converted and I had no need for justifying the need for AOE, however densely (and defensively) presented. I was interested in how to implement it. Only on page 122 does he explicitly state the difficulty in promoting his philosophy of wisdom toward knowing what is of value to people from vastly different experiences and cultures... "In order to be successful, of course, it is essential that we are able to be honest, to ourselves and to each other, about what we are doing, what our actual aims and methods are, what it is we desire and feel. A basic task for inquiry, according to the philosophy of wisdom, is to help us to develop a society, a world, in which such honesty is encouraged to flourish as opposed to being penalized." And he never touches that cornerstone issue again. To me, this would have been the first sentence and the driving premise of the entire book! Though he states in several places that values can be culturally driven, and he points to recent Darwinian and psychological/economic findings about how humans may be hardwired to act against their own short-term interests in order to maintain social mores that ensure survivability in local environments, he has nothing to say about solutions that support the encouragement of such honesty. Yes, he thinks the IMF and other supranational bodies should implement policies to move us toward such ends. He acknowledges that religious and cultural values may often prove to be tenacious obstacles to honesty. How do aspiring purveyors of wisdom overcome religious, cultural, and other mores, both within their ranks and in the societies they wish to transform, to deliver the goals he seeks? Not a word. I found his attempt to fit physics into his theory of rationalism gone wrong meretricious, not to mention extraordinarily labored and long. His explication of quantum mechanics and immodest proposal to reduce the complexities of quantum interconnectedness to a two sentence theory, missed by Feynmann and every other post-Einstein thinker, was... astonishing? His discussion of why comprehensibility in the perceived universe was not possible, owing to the possibility of other explanations that might - or might not - exist called to mind Zeno's paradox of Achilles and the tortoise. Cute, but of little practical value. One recommendation he makes is for a "virtual" university in each nation, promoting shadow policies and cultural examinations to determine the ramifications of various policies and educate the electorate accordingly. I doubt the plethora of ideological think-tanks that the United States endures is quite what he has in mind, but there's no prescription for avoiding those partisan solutions, or for mediating amongst them to filter the bits of wisdom from each if they are a necessary evil. His other suggestions to the question of encouraging honesty above (and there are very few, including such high-level actions as voting Tony Blair and George Bush out of office) are equally empty. What could each of us do, in our communities, our children's schools, our places of work, to promote honesty and self-reflection amongst our peers and ourselves... without alienating each other? This book is silent on those counts. I give the author two stars for at least raising the issue, but I think you'll find few answers between the covers. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very important book: A "must" for relevant audiences,
By J. Huggins - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: From Knowledge to Wisdom: A Revolution for Science and the Humanities (Paperback)
Any philosopher or other person who seeks wisdom should read this book. Any educator who loves education--especially those in leadership positions--should read this book. Anyone who wants to understand an important source of modern human malaise should read this book. And anyone trying to figure out why, in a world that produces so many technical wonders, there is such an immense "wisdom gap" should read this book.
In "From Knowledge to Wisdom: A Revolution for Science and the Humanities," Second Edition, British philosopher Nicholas Maxwell presents a compelling, wise, humane, and timely argument for a shift in our fundamental "aim of inquiry" from that of knowledge to that of wisdom. To appreciate the bare essence of Maxwell's conclusion, one need only consult a good dictionary and reflect on the state of the world today. But, the book helps bring the problem to life and presents a compelling rationale for the shift. Indeed, the essential argument of the book "rings true" (and loudly so) in light of what's going on in the world today on many dimensions. Maxwell argues that the highest priority of inquiry--the "aim" of inquiry--should be to help humans realize (including achieve) "what is of value in life" in a broad sense of that phrase and in ways that are themselves subject to continuing assessment and improvement as wisdom and knowledge progress. For example, rather than claiming to seek "truth" primarily for the sake of knowledge itself, we should, Maxwell argues, place a higher priority on seeking understanding, and corresponding action, aimed at helping humans actually realize "what is of value in life." The book is not simply or even primarily an emotional plea: Instead, the argument is based in reason, rationality, an analysis of shortcomings of current approaches, and wisdom. The book does not argue for wisdom-without-knowledge (as if there were such a thing for humans). It argues, instead, that a priority should be placed on wisdom and, within that broader context--and as one key element of it--on the acquisition of knowledge that serves the higher priority of wisdom and, in so doing, serves the aim mentioned above. Nor is the book's message relativistic in the sense of "everything is equally true" or "anything goes." In fact, the book reflects a deep appreciation for empirical discovery and practicality. That said, the book makes the very healthy argument, among others, that the aims and assumptions of inquiry, in general, should be made explicit and should be subject to ongoing assessment and improvement. In a very helpful way, Maxwell uses the phrases "philosophy of wisdom," "philosophy of knowledge," "aim-oriented rationality," "standard empiricism," and "aim-oriented empiricism" to clarify concepts and express his argument. That said, given the immense importance of the topic, I could not possibly do it justice by trying to summarize Maxwell's compelling argument here. "From Knowledge to Wisdom" is for the open-minded wisdom-seeker but perhaps not for the faint of heart. Maxwell sheds light on--and seeks to correct and improve--some key unexamined or under-examined assumptions that influence academia, scientific pursuit, and global well-being. Mary Poppins might have added a bit more sugar, but that's Mary Poppins. In short, my recommendation: Read this book!
3.0 out of 5 stars
From Knowledge to Wisdom?,
By Avid Reader - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: From Knowledge to Wisdom: A Revolution for Science and the Humanities (Paperback)
On one hand, this book raises timely and important issues for anyone concerned with the future of education, science, society, humanity, and the world in general.
A philosophically inclined and educated reader will find parts of this book thought-provoking and challenging. On the other hand, this book is overly ambitious and falls short in its efforts. The author has a rather off-putting tendency to portray himself as a maverick who alone has solved the philosophical problems of the ages, while confessing his puzzlement and bitterness at having largely been ignored by scientists and academics, yet he struggles in the knowledge that he can save humanity from our folly, if only we could see his wisdom. There is a somewhat quixotic undertone throughout the book. The main problem I had with this book was the author's style of argumentation. He adopts a "last man standing" approach, wherein he shows how all the other possible philosophical positions are flawed (usually via a reductio ad absurdum argument) and, therefore, in virtue of being the only remaining position, his position is the best position. The problem with this is that the author is very selective about the positions he criticizes, he tends to make "straw men" out of them (thereby making it easier to refute them), and he ignores a great deal of the complexity and subtlety of his opponents' positions. A great deal of the book is overly negative and based on an unhelpful misrepresentation (or downright dismissal) of many interesting and influential philosophical traditions and thinkers. The author also appeals to a rather overly simplistic history of the Enlightenment (and its "great blunder", which he alone has divined), a somewhat Darwinian notion of values (developed in a rather hand-waving and unconvincing manner), and naive realism. I was disappointed that the author did not spend more of the book positively developing his idea of "wisdom-inquiry" in detail. The author tends to promote a rather "wishful thinking" argument that, if only this was put into practice, we would use and develop our knowledge wisely. Indeed. But, as the author argued from the outset, the problem is that we don't. Instead of developing ideas about how we could get from here to there, the author largely argues for the need for "wisdom-inquiry" rather than closely examining how it could be initiated, developed, and put into practice. The author does not go into any real detail about the complexities, problems, and obstacles that would be involved, apart from mentioning in passing a couple of hypothetical examples. The reader is left with overly simplistic and abstract generalities and broad value statements, and, to be quite frank, is left none the wiser. Having said all that, this book does contribute to a very much needed public debate about how science and academia should help humanity learn how to solve pressing global problems and crises. This book does raise important questions and challenges many commonplace assumptions. |
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