Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 36:161, 2015 Copyright © 2015 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc. ISSN: 0161-2840 print / 1096-4673 online DOI: 10.3109/01612840.2015.1003465
FROM THE EDITOR
Wisdom: What the World Needs Now Sandra P. Thomas, PhD, RN, FAAN, Editor
Edward Osborne Wilson studies ants. Yet his insights about human behavior are stunning, provoking thoughtful reflection long after reading his books. Upon recommendation by a psychiatric nurse colleague, I purchased his book Consilience in 2006 (Wilson, 1999). I was fascinated by his attempt to bring all the branches of human knowledge together in a “new synthesis.” Later, I learned that Wilson had predicted this “new synthesis” of knowledge way back in 1975. I also learned that he had been “excoriated in print and in public” when he first proposed that natural selection influenced human behavior (Haidt, 2012, p. 38). At one lecture in 1978, he was even physically attacked by an attendee who poured a pitcher of water on his head, asserting “Wilson, you’re all wet” (cited in Wilson, 1995). This editorial is prompted by my attendance in December at a lecture by E. O. Wilson at my university, the University of Tennessee, on the eve of his receiving an honorary doctorate. What a privilege to hear him speak and have him sign my dog-eared copy of Consilience. In his talk, Dr Wilson fondly reminisced a bit about his time as a graduate student at UT in the early 1950s, which afforded him the opportunity to explore the beauty and biodiversity of the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But mostly he reflected on his lifelong efforts to answer the three questions that have always intrigued him: “What are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?” (Wilson, 2014). Echoing his earlier warning about “overspecialization of the educated elite” (Wilson, 1999, p. 137), he challenged the students in the audience to think broadly, about the big questions of human existence, before becoming “imprisoned by the thesis” (Wilson, 2014). Once again he issued his clarion call for unification of the natural sciences and the humanities. Although Haidt (2012) claimed in a recent publication that the “new synthesis” has arrived, the world is not yet being run by synthesizers. And human knowledge, although expanding exponentially, is
not yet applied with wisdom. In Consilience, written long before checking facts in Google became a daily activity for most of us, Wilson presciently talked about the increased ease of access to factual knowledge: “We are drowning in information while starving for wisdom” (Wilson, 1999, p. 294). Take a minute to ponder the truth of Wilson’s statement. Think of the immense problems that dominate the daily news: tribal conflicts, corrupt governments, poisonous pollution, and species extinction, to name just a few. More directly germane to you, the readers of this journal, think of the inhumane treatment of people with mental illnesses that continues to occur, even in “developed countries” where a deficit of information is not the problem. Wisdom, as exemplified by this wise elder scholar, is sorely needed in our world. I leave you with the words of Wilson (1999, p. 325): We are entering a new era of existentialism, not the old absurdist existentialism of Kierkegaard and Sartre, giving complete autonomy to the individual, but the concept that only unified learning, universally shared, makes accurate foresight and wise choice possible.
Declaration of Interest: The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper. REFERENCES Haidt, J. (2012). The righteous mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion. New York: Vintage Books. Wilson, E. O. (1975). Sociobiology: The new synthesis. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Wilson, E. O. (1995). Naturalist. Washington DC: Island Press. Wilson, E. O. (1999). Consilience: The unity of knowledge. New York: Vintage Books. Wilson, E. O. (2014). Lecture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 12th December.
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Copyright of Issues in Mental Health Nursing is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
FROM THE EDITOR
Wisdom: What the World Needs Now Sandra P. Thomas, PhD, RN, FAAN, Editor
Edward Osborne Wilson studies ants. Yet his insights about human behavior are stunning, provoking thoughtful reflection long after reading his books. Upon recommendation by a psychiatric nurse colleague, I purchased his book Consilience in 2006 (Wilson, 1999). I was fascinated by his attempt to bring all the branches of human knowledge together in a “new synthesis.” Later, I learned that Wilson had predicted this “new synthesis” of knowledge way back in 1975. I also learned that he had been “excoriated in print and in public” when he first proposed that natural selection influenced human behavior (Haidt, 2012, p. 38). At one lecture in 1978, he was even physically attacked by an attendee who poured a pitcher of water on his head, asserting “Wilson, you’re all wet” (cited in Wilson, 1995). This editorial is prompted by my attendance in December at a lecture by E. O. Wilson at my university, the University of Tennessee, on the eve of his receiving an honorary doctorate. What a privilege to hear him speak and have him sign my dog-eared copy of Consilience. In his talk, Dr Wilson fondly reminisced a bit about his time as a graduate student at UT in the early 1950s, which afforded him the opportunity to explore the beauty and biodiversity of the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But mostly he reflected on his lifelong efforts to answer the three questions that have always intrigued him: “What are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?” (Wilson, 2014). Echoing his earlier warning about “overspecialization of the educated elite” (Wilson, 1999, p. 137), he challenged the students in the audience to think broadly, about the big questions of human existence, before becoming “imprisoned by the thesis” (Wilson, 2014). Once again he issued his clarion call for unification of the natural sciences and the humanities. Although Haidt (2012) claimed in a recent publication that the “new synthesis” has arrived, the world is not yet being run by synthesizers. And human knowledge, although expanding exponentially, is
not yet applied with wisdom. In Consilience, written long before checking facts in Google became a daily activity for most of us, Wilson presciently talked about the increased ease of access to factual knowledge: “We are drowning in information while starving for wisdom” (Wilson, 1999, p. 294). Take a minute to ponder the truth of Wilson’s statement. Think of the immense problems that dominate the daily news: tribal conflicts, corrupt governments, poisonous pollution, and species extinction, to name just a few. More directly germane to you, the readers of this journal, think of the inhumane treatment of people with mental illnesses that continues to occur, even in “developed countries” where a deficit of information is not the problem. Wisdom, as exemplified by this wise elder scholar, is sorely needed in our world. I leave you with the words of Wilson (1999, p. 325): We are entering a new era of existentialism, not the old absurdist existentialism of Kierkegaard and Sartre, giving complete autonomy to the individual, but the concept that only unified learning, universally shared, makes accurate foresight and wise choice possible.
Declaration of Interest: The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper. REFERENCES Haidt, J. (2012). The righteous mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion. New York: Vintage Books. Wilson, E. O. (1975). Sociobiology: The new synthesis. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Wilson, E. O. (1995). Naturalist. Washington DC: Island Press. Wilson, E. O. (1999). Consilience: The unity of knowledge. New York: Vintage Books. Wilson, E. O. (2014). Lecture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 12th December.
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Copyright of Issues in Mental Health Nursing is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
