Each year on the third Thursday in November, UNESCO invites friends of philosophy throughout the world to pursue “free, reasoned and informed thinking — thinking that works towards a better understanding of the world, promoting tolerance and peace.”

In response to that challenge, this session of the Socratic Conversations will examine ten behaviors associated with thinking and acting wisely, drawn from our world wisdom traditions and from scientific research on the subject.

Please come to share your ideas, experiences, and…wisdom! Among the topics we’ll discuss are:

• How Do You Define Wisdom?
• Who is Wise? How Can You Tell?
• Is Wisdom Individual, or Collective?
• Can Wisdom Be Taught? – or Learned?
• Are you getting wiser?
• If so, how? If not, why not?
• Does Wisdom make us happier?
• Does American culture value it?

This Conversation will be followed up by several sessions of the University Seminar which meets monthly, including sessions with Mark Brackett, of Yale University, on Emotional Intelligence (January 26th); George Bonanno, of Teachers College, Columbia University, on Resilience after Traumatic Loss ( December 8th) and Ursala Staudinger, of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, on Wisdom(March).