WHAT IS WISDOM?

An exploration of various philosophical approaches and how they may be used to approach modern challenges.

In this introductory work, entrepreneur, teacher, and consultant Kian, author of What Is Water?: How Young Leaders Can Thrive In an Uncertain World (2019), presents snippets of “the hard-fought experience, lessons, and thoughts of philosophers who did their best before you over the past millennia” and extrapolates applications for 21st-century readers. His aim is for his audience to learn different ways of thinking and choose the best ones to apply in their own lives. It addresses such broad concepts as overcoming everyday challenges, coping with change, building one’s character, and staying connected to reality, and regarding these subjects, Kian refers to many ancient philosophers, including Cleobulus, Aristotle, Socrates, and Heraclitus, as well as more recent theorists, such as William of Ockham, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Immanuel Kant. The section “Bruce Lee Can Help You Adapt and Overcome Obstacles” discusses the martial artist’s ambition to be “like water”—adaptable and continually seeking the best path. Some sections offer opportunities for self-analysis, including questions for identifying and assessing one’s values and virtues. Kian also encourages journaling to find patterns in one’s life and experiencing environments by using all of one’s senses. The book has a simple, accessible structure that’s easy to follow. However, by devoting chapters to individual philosophers instead of overarching themes, there’s some unnecessary repetition of ideas. However, this aspect of the text may be appreciated by philosophy novices. It’s also quite clear that Kian wants readers to engage with the text as much as possible, and to that end, he leaves room for notes at the end of each section.

A clear and well-curated discussion for readers new to philosophy.