Jason A. Merchey's Blog, page 8

Wisdom from the Book THINK AGAIN

I am always on the lookout for a good book, preferably one that features wisdom, quotations, and is both enlightening and challenging!

In this blog, I present some of the quotations I believe represent wisdom from the book Think Again, by Adam Grant.

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Short Video Introducing My New Book, Wisdom

  My 15 minutes of fame!     Click below to learn more about my 2022 book titled Wisdom: A Very Valuable Virtue That Cannot Be Bought….

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Wisdom: Who, When and Why?

Who has wisdom? At what age is it likeliest? How can one develop it? What does it look like? Here are some practical characteristics of this challenging concept grounded in the idea that it takes more than just age to develop; it is based more on skill and perception than accumulation of years. If the 60s is the decade wisdom is likeliest, that makes the 20s and 30s virtually impossible to really grasp the nature of and importance of learning (beyond technique, such as how to repair a car or how to administer the law, which is more easily attained at younger ages). As well, a person in their 80s is probably too subject to cognitive decline to be the wisest among us. Though it can be heard "from the mouths of babes," usually babes just cry, gossip, and whine. Read on to hear what some experts think is likely to result in not just knowledge, but wisdom.

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Wisdom is About Love, Kindness, Altruism & Generosity

In this blog, I will share some snippets from Chapter One of my new book, Wisdom: A Very Valuable Virtue That Cannot Be Bought (March, 2022). The thesis is that wisdom is about love, kindness, altruism & generosity. These are some of the highest levels of human development, psychological sophistication, and societal progress. So, it is fitting that the first chapter in the book is about these beautiful values and virtues.

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What Do Mass Shootings and Wisdom Have in Common?

What do mass shootings and wisdom have in common?

How did America go from putting astronauts on the moon and boasting millions of middle-class families to banning books and borrowing money endlessly??

How do the wealthy and powerful stay so wealthy and powerful while there is so much pain and privation for 90% of people in society?

America is suffering gravely from an astonishing lack of wisdom!

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Quotes About Existentialism and Meaning

Meaning, existence, fulfillment, passion, and insight are values and virtues that cohere in some way. They are all relevant to existentialism, a philosophical doctrine that examines man's existence, state, and nature. Mostly it's not cheery stuff, but truth and reality often are not. In this blog, I share many of the quotes about meaning that I particularly like, as well as existentialism, living well, freedom, and choice. As you can tell by this first quotation by 19th-century German existentialist Arthur Schopenhauer, this is not a simple or reassuring topic: 

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What Does “Moral Values” Mean?

Values is a neutral term; one could value relaxation, competition, humor, sexual conquest, helping others, or swindling them successfully (subterfuge and personal gain). It means what it sounds like it means – a value is something which a person holds in high regard, pursues, and even loves. Values tend to include hallmark ones such as truth, justice, humility, goodness, and kindness. In this blog, I explore the idea of moral values, asking what the term means, which values probably qualify as moral values, and how one implements them in one's life.

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Pithy Quotes by Unitarian Universalists

I have been looking more and more into the religious/spiritual movement of Unitarian/Universalism. Not sure if you’ve heard much about it. It’s in the category of agnosticism, spirituality, deism, and pantheism as far as being a reasonable, admirable, defensible, humanistic approach to personal growth and community enrichment. I wanted to share a bit about the philosophy (I think that is a decent word to describe this thing – more apt than “religion” or “sect” or something. Perhaps “tradition” or “movement” would be fine, too. To that end, I will quote liberally from the Unitarian Universalist Association website and then I will share a few quotations from prominent (even, famous) U-U thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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The Wisdom of Taking Climate Change Seriously

In my recently published book on wisdom, I found that defining wisdom is more challenging (and less useful) than to approach the topic more obliquely: sharing examples of wisdom in action, describing the values and virtues I believe are associated with individuals who are wise, etc. I also don't forego the opportunity to share a number of lessons I've learned in my life, including some examples of a lack of wisdom! This blog focuses in on one case in point that those who study wisdom must not miss: the wisdom underlying taking climate change seriously.

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Home-top 2

Will a deep appreciation of wisdom lead to more happiness, flourishing, and success in life? Why is America increasingly plagued by tribalism, elitism, materialism, and ME-ism? What do philosophy, psychology, and personal growth have to say about wisdom? Are the Bible and other religious texts legitimate and useful sources of human wisdom? Though powerful and

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