The quest for wisdom in turbulent times - a conversation with three Harvard Professors about practice of wisdom in everyday living

For more than a decade a group of Harvard professors has taught a class about wisdom and its religious, moral, and aesthetic dimensions to undergraduates. The four professors are friends from distinct disciplines:­ Michael Puett, a historian of religions; Arthur Kleinman, a physician and medical anthropologist; Stephanie Paulsell, a theologian and literary scholar; and Davíd Carrasco, a historian and anthropologist. Inside and outside of the classroom, they have sought to understand how their own areas of study might relate to the art of living well and seeking wisdom during both ordinary and extraordinary times. Now they have written a book that outlines some of the insights they have shared with students and what they have learned while teaching the class, The Practice of Wisdom: Five Quests. These quests wind through the labyrinthine challenges of caregiving, solitude, self-understanding, and transcendence. Wisdom, they note in their introduction, is plural. There are many distinctive forms it can take, depending on the place and time one inhabits and the forms of suffering they face. Nautilus spoke with Puett, Kleinman, and Paulsell about how they define wisdom, why one should avoid romanticizing wisdom, what solitude and ritual can contribute to the practice, and what kind of wisdom might be required for our current moment.