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In this episode of In Search of Wisdom, my guest is Dr. Dilip Jeste, author of Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion, and What Makes Us Good. In this conversation, Dr. Jeste emphasizes the importance of social connections and compassion in developing wisdom and improving overall well-being. He also highlights the negative impact of loneliness on mental and physical health and suggests that wisdom can serve as an antidote to loneliness. The conversation concludes with insights on the importance of humility, self-reflection, and finding meaning and purpose in life.

Key Takeaways:

• Wisdom is a characteristic pattern of behavior that can vary in individuals and across different components.
• Social connections and compassion are essential for developing wisdom and improving overall well-being.
• Loneliness has a negative impact on mental and physical health, and wisdom can serve as an antidote to loneliness.
• Humility is essential for wisdom and involves recognizing our own ignorance and the limitations of our knowledge.

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🦉 Additional Resources:

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In this episode of In Search of Wisdom, we discuss a practice I usually refer to as the wisdom to know the difference. Specifically, we revisit and reflect on a previous meditation (from the Letters to a Young Seeker series) titled Neither Good Nor Bad. You can expect to learn what it means to discern between what matters and what doesn’t (in everyday life).

Key Takeaways:

• The meaning of neither good nor bad
• Why we are wired to categorize and label
• How to get comfortable with ambiguity
• The wisdom of questions and clarity

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In this episode of In Search of Wisdom, my guest is Todd May, author of A Decent Life: Morality for the Rest of Us. Todd is a philosopher and author of eighteen books, including A Significant Life, A Fragile Life, and a forthcoming book titled Should We Go Instinct?. Todd worked as a philosophical advisor on the hit show The Good Place and has written extensively on meaning, friendship, fragility, and other topics.

Key Takeaways:

• The meaning of a moral life
• The art of knowing oneself
• Expanding our circles of compassion
• Practical wisdom for modern living

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🦉 Additional Resources:

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In this episode of In Search of Wisdom, I reflect on a previous meditation titled Think Like a Mortal (from Perennial Meditations on Substack) and explore what it means to live an intentional life. I discuss how realizing that we are “dying every day” can help us live in the present moment and lead more meaningful lives.

Key Takeaways

• The wisdom of accepting life’s eternal truths
• The paradox of uncertainty
• The need for constraints and limits
• Happiness (and Life) is in the present

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🦉 Additional Resources:

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In this episode of In Search of Wisdom, my guest is Prof. Jay Garfield, author of Losing Ourselves: Learning to Live without a Self. Jay Garfield is the Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy, Logic, and Buddhist Studies at Smith College and a visiting professor of Buddhist philosophy at Harvard Divinity School. Prof. Garfield is the author of multiple books, including Buddhist Philosophy, Engaging Buddhism, and Buddhist Ethics.

Key Takeaways:

• What it means to lose ourselves
• The difference between conventional and ultimate truths
• Why losing ourselves connects with an ethical life
• How to reclaim our humanity

***If you enjoyed the conversation (and are interested in learning more), I encourage you to listen to Jay’s conversation on The Wisdom Podcast.

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The Character Lab is a new series on In Search of Wisdom designed to explore various aspects of character development. The series is a joint venture with my friend and previous podcast guest, Shane Trotter (author of Setting the Bar). In this episode, Shane and I discuss the complex topic of objective morality and the shift towards moral relativism in society. We explore the role of judgment in ethics and the need for cognitive flexibility, the provisional nature of moral behavior, and the inherent insight humans have into right and wrong. We also touch on the tendency towards moral relativism, the need for clarity in virtues, and the importance of serving the greater good.

Key Takeaways

• Society has seen a shift towards moral relativism, where individuals believe that there is no objective good or bad.
• Moral objectivism suggests that there are universal truths of morality that humans have independently come to throughout history.
• The tension between pluralism and dogmatism highlights the need for open-mindedness and the recognition of competing moralities.
• Discerning right from wrong is challenging and requires wisdom, discussion, and the pursuit of excellence in character development.

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🦉 Additional Resources:

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Perennial Lives is a new series on In Search of Wisdom exploring The Art of Living: From Socrates to Aquinas. Each episode examines the life and wisdom of one perennial figure in an attempt to keep learning how to live.

🔆 Read the transcript: https://perennial.substack.com/

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In this episode of In Search of Wisdom, my guest is Samir Chopra, author of the new book Anxiety: A Philosophical Guide. Samir is a philosophical counselor and professor emeritus of Philosophy at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. In the conversation, we discuss the meaning of anxiety and how it can help us learn more about ourselves and the world around us. You can learn more about Samir’s work at Samirchopra.com.

Key Takeaways

• Philosophy can provide comfort and insight in dealing with personal challenges and emotions like anxiety.
• Anxiety can be a teacher, providing self-knowledge and insight into our values and priorities.
• Medicating anxiety can be a complex issue, as it may suppress opportunities for self-discovery and growth.
• Wisdom is an ongoing process of acquiring a vision of our place in the world and understanding the unalterable aspects of existence.

🎧 For more wisdom, subscribe to The Wisdom School (Apple Podcasts or Spotify).

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🦉 Additional Resources:

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• Listen to more podcasts: https://www.perennialleader.com/podcasts