So sorry to have cluttered up your inbox. Please let me know when you have 
helped me to realise, so I can be suitably grateful.
bob.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mathew Iredale" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 1:09 PM
Subject: [FRIENDSOFWISDOM] Friends of Wisdom - The Next Step


Dear Friends of Wisdom,

There have been a number of emails over the last month or two which have
caused the discussion group to drift further and further away from the
remit of the Friends of Wisdom.

I feel that we are in danger of forgetting the original aim of FOW and that
new members will wonder what exactly FOW stands for.

In a nutshell, it is this:

The Friends of Wisdom is an independent association of people sympathetic
to the idea that academic inquiry should not simply devote itself to the
acquisition of knowledge but rather should devote itself to helping
humanity acquire the capacity to realize what is of value in life, for
oneself and others.

This capacity to realize what is of value in life, for oneself and others,
we term wisdom. This is not supposed to be the definitive definition of
wisdom, but rather is the most obvious and convenient term to describe the
capacity to realize what is of value.

Unfortunately, some members of the discussion group appear to believe that
the ‘wisdom’ in ‘Friends of Wisdom’ stands for any one of a number of
different meanings of the term, and that part of our remit is to determine,
define, and discuss what wisdom means and what sort of wisdoms we should be
promoting. And so we have all sorts of discussions about historical,
philosophical and cultural meanings of the term, and related terms and
ideas, including personal philosophies and agendas. Fascinating as these
discussions sometimes are, most of them are superfluous to the aims of FOW
and detract from more serious discussion.

As I said in an earlier email (18th May):

“This is what the Friends of Wisdom stands for:

An association of people sympathetic to the idea that academic inquiry
should help humanity acquire the capacity to realize what is of value in
life, for oneself and others.

Call it wisdom, call it humanity, call it what you like, but let us please
get on with the important business of deciding how we can put it into
action!”

To this end, our primary aim should be to encourage academic inquiry to
help humanity acquire the capacity to realize what is of value in life.

How should we set about this? This is the fundamental problem which we
should be addressing.

Immediately it will be apparent that those currently in academic positions
(or retired) will have a different set of opportunities before them than
those Friends of Wisdom who are not in academic positions, and that each
group needs to approach the problem in a different way.

Those in academia will of course be in different disciplines and different
institutions and this again will affect how they approach the problem.

Nevertheless, there are certain fundamental steps that we can take to
advance the FOW.

First and foremost, all Friends of Wisdom need to acquaint themselves with
Nick’s basic argument of the need for a revolution in the aims and methods
of academic inquiry. This is not to suggest that we are a religion, and
that Nick’s arguments should be taken as gospel, but we (Nick, Katherine
Crawley and myself) set up FOW because we really believe in what Nick has
been arguing for over the last 30 years or so. We may disagree on some of
the details, but we are in accord with his main arguments and ideas. And
unless you understand what those are, you will simply not appreciate what
FOW stands for or wants to achieve.

So, as a first step, I would recommend, if you have not already done so,
reading the articles on the FOW website www.knowledgetowisdom.org, and,
especially, ‘The Basic Argument’ on Nick’s own website www.nick-
maxwell.demon.co.uk/basic_arg.htm. For a far more detailed discussion
(including a chapter on the all important concept of what is of value in
life)I recommend Nick's book 'From Knowledge to Wisdom'.

If nothing else, this will allow you to determine whether or not you agree
with the basic argument that we wish to expound, and so with the aims of
the Friends of Wisdom. Understanding this basic argument is also crucial,
of course, if one wishes to persuade others to our cause.

And this brings me to the second step that can be taken – introducing
others to the FOW.

For those in academic institutions, this could be as simple as raising it
in conversation with colleagues or via email, or introducing the idea to
students during tutorials or lectures. No heavy handed proselytising is
needed – far from it – but we will not grow unless we go out there and
actually start to tell people about the FOW (which is why we need to
understand the basic arguments & ideas behind FOW).

Now, some of you may already be doing this, which is great, but I imagine
that the majority of us could be doing much more than we are. I certainly
could; the single page of my website set up to describe FOW has remained
unchanged since I first created it, I’m ashamed to say.

And what of those not in academic institutions? There are still positive
steps to be taken. Simply writing to academic institutions – universities,
societies, governing bodies – asking them to what extent they wish to help
humanity acquire the capacity to realize what is of value in life, would be
a start. Their answer may be positive, more probably negative, but even if
it is the latter, a dialogue has begun which may have positive results. I
first became aware of Nick’s ideas some 15 years ago, but it was only
comparatively recently (after reviewing “Is Science Neurotic?” that I
finally came to see “the profound importance of its central message” as I
put it in my review. Hopefully, others will be persuaded of the wisdom of
our cause in less time!

The third step that we must take is to put our group on a more formal
setting. At the moment, someone joining the FOW may be forgiven for
thinking that it is little more than a philosophical discussion group of
little or no relevance to the real world with all its problems. Nothing
could be further from the truth. The vision statement for FOW on my website
states:

“We wish to help humanity learn how to create a better world”

This applies to everyone, everywhere. (I should add that this is a
prospective vision statement, and not ‘writ in stone’ as it were. But I
think that it nicely captures what our vision should be.)

Whether we form a company, a charity, or simply set out a constitution, we
do need to formalise our group, if we are to be taken seriously by others,
and if we wish to have a conference or newsletter. Nick and I have been
looking at this for a while, and as some have rightly pointed out on the
discussion board, it is not something to be rushed, but it is a crucial
next step for FOW to take and we should take it sooner rather than later.
My own view is that we need some sort of constitution first, and then we
should look at our options regarding forming a charity, company, etc.

I will stop now, as this email is far longer than I intended when I began.
To quickly recap:

Step 1.

Become acquainted with the basic arguments behind the Friends of Wisdom. If
you are unclear about anything, I am sure that Nick would be happy to
clarify it. After all, he had the patience to stick with me for 15 years!

Step 2.

Think about how you can introduce others to the Friends of Wisdom, and then
go for it.

Step 3.

How should we put FOW on a more formal setting?

Best wishes

Mathew Iredale