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As Walter Moss states in the opening of this new article by him, "As President Obama prepares to seek reelection later this year, it is fitting to examine to what extent he manifests political wisdom." In this  well-researched and thoughtful article, Walter Moss continues to explore the topic of "political wisdom." In this case, Moss considers the degree to which President Obama, in both concrete word and deed, expresses and demonstrates a variety of virtues and values associated with political wisdom. Based on his previous article "Reflections on Wisdom and Politics", where Moss lists and describes the virtues and values of political wisdom, he examines President Obama on his idealism and realism, empathy and compassion, his humor and humility, tolerance and capacity to compromise, temperance and self-discipline, passion, courage, and creativity, and support for freedom and justice.

Walter Moss, Ph.D., is a careful and clear, and well-informed and scholarly thinker and writer. Further he is very systematic in his approach and evaluation of President Obama. I would say that this article provides more valuable information and food for thought on President Obama's record, his character and values, and his plans and vision for the future than a hundred mass media political ads and news bites on TV and the Internet.

The Power of Habit provides a general theory of the nature of habits. Though rather simple and streamlined in form, it illustrates, through numerous and diverse examples, how habits structure and determine our lives, both individually and collectively. (Just as people do, organizations have habits too). Finally, the book offers varied examples and practical activities for gaining control over our habits and changing them.

In fact, for Charles Duhigg, habit is a universalist idea: In his view, it appears that all of individual human psychology and all of social and collective behavior can be understood as nothing but sets of habits. Given this mindset, at times it seems that he is trying to forcefully squeeze or confusedly jam all manner of elements and nuances of human life into this one model, stretching the model beyond credibility.

After touching on many of these varied illustrations of the expansive nature of habits, when the author comes to the topic of willpower (and if the reader is familiar with Baumeister's and Tierney's book on willpower), he may initially provoke incredulity when he states that willpower is a habit as well. But after deeper consideration, it will hit you that looking at willpower as a habit is enlightening and illuminating. Willpower --through acts of willpower--is something that is practiced and can be exercised and strengthened.

Habit, indeed, as Duhigg argues, is a powerful theoretical concept. It provides an explanation for the stability we observe in human behavior, but it also provides a framework for understanding psychological change: We stay the same by repeating our habits; we change by changing our habits--a simple and direct formula for life. Habits can explain why we are stuck (in the past), but it is also true that the tenacious and repetitive exercise of certain behaviors is the way by which we can realize future goals and change our way of life. Routinely eat well and one gets healthier; exercise regularly and one gets more fit and stronger; read and study on a regular basis and one gets educated (all other things being equal).

In fact, following Aristotle, as well as many contemporary thinkers, one develops character and becomes virtuous by repeatedly expressing (and hence practicing) virtuous acts. One becomes a better person by doing virtuous acts--by living the life of virtue. The good is a habit. (As Gretchen Rubin points out, it's what you do everyday--and not just once in a while--that is really important.)

In contemporary educational theory and practice, repetition has gotten a bad name: As the modern argument goes, students need to develop creative skills and not just engage in rote learning and practice. But without practice, without the repetitious and often exhausting exercise of skills and capacities, excellence does not emerge. Moreover, habits become motives: The more something is practiced, the better one gets at it and  the greater the desire to repeat it. The more you learn, the more you want to learn; the more you exercise, the more you want to exercise.

In my opinion, though, the biggest flaw in the book is how oblivious the whole exposition is to the classic history of psychological research on habits. Duhigg cites recent research, but he says nothing about B. F. Skinner, Pavlov, Watson, or almost any other psychologist from earlier times. (Duhigg does discuss William James a bit.) In this regard, it is noteworthy that Duhigg's theory of habits and human motivation, in fact, is essentially a model of operant conditioning (see Skinner and Clark Hull). Skinner and Hull also believed that habits were pretty much everything. But there is no credit given to or discussion of the rich and informative work of these psychologists, among others. Further, Duhigg does not discuss the central importance of "association" psychology and philosophy--the foundation of habits--that runs back over two hundred years.

I don't know whether Duhigg believes he is saying something new in his book, but almost all his basic ideas can be found in earlier psychological research and writings. In fact, he totally misses many central elements and implications pertaining to habits simply because he does not seem to be familiar with the great wealth of information to be found in experimental psychology. As someone interested in the history and evolution of human thought, it is fascinating to me how frequently people believe that they have discovered something new when in fact it has been (often repeatedly) observed or thought out before by others. Such is the ignorance and arrogance of the present relative to the past.

Tom Lombardo

Evolutionaries is an interesting and informative book--I read through it in a flash. The writing style flows; it held my attention from the opening; I learned a lot, thought a lot along the way; and the book significantly helped me to pull lots of themes together in my mind. The book weaves together narrative and theory, introducing different evolutionary thinkers through stories about them and then describing the essence of their theories. Through the book Phipps delves into the lives and key ideas of around forty or fifty different evolutionary thinkers, from scientists and psychologists to philosophers and spiritual leaders. He includes discussions of Darwin, Teillard de Chardin, Lynn Margulis, Howard Bloom, Sri Aurubindo, Alfred North Whitehead, Ken Wilber, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Robert Wright, and Ray Kurzweil, among others --a rich and wide array of personalities and perspectives.

Phipps' basic argument is that evolution is a cosmic, interdisciplinary world view, including but not limited to the natural or biological sciences. All of existence, from the metaphysical and cosmological to the social, psychological, and spiritual can be subsumed under the framework of evolutionary thought. There are diverse individuals, from diverse disciplines, cultures, and ways of life, actively working toward this integrative (or integral) perspective. That indeed is the main point of the book: To show how evolutionary thinking is being applied across the board to nature, society and culture, technology, human psychology and creativity, and theology and spirituality.

Furthermore, evolution, as a world view, not only informs us regarding the nature of things, it also provides a basis for ethics and morality--a "moral imperative," as Phipps identifies it, to consciously and purposefully further facilitate the ongoing evolution of humanity and the cosmos. Though grounded in a story of our origins, evolution, both factually and ethically, points toward a vision of the future and inspires us on our journey through time.

In fact, as Phipps points out, the evolutionary world view is still in evolution--the pieces of this grand narrative are just coming together; the insights are still arising and taking form. As some have argued, evolution as a natural process is evolving, and our understanding of it likewise is in a state of ongoing development. As Chardin stated, "We are moving," and this applies both to our ontological reality and our evolving knowledge of the world around us.   

Where, I believe, the book suffers is in its treatment of evolutionary theory within the physical and cosmological sciences. It is light and highly selective relative to more humanistic and spiritual evolutionary perspectives. Phipps does include scientific thinkers such as Walter Kauffman, Kevin Kelly, and Elizabet Sahtouris, but there is little, if nothing, on physical and biological evolutionary thought as represented in the works of Lee Smolin, Eric Chaisson, Murrary Gell-Mann, David Loye, Paul Davies, Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, and Frank Tipler, among others. The evolutionary perspective on physical cosmology and the biological sciences is simply not sufficiently developed.

I also found that though Phipps attempts to provide the big picture of evolutionary thinking, generally he describes each evolutionary thinker and then moves on to the next. He doesn't integrate the ideas and major themes of all the different individuals anywhere near as much as he could.

Yet all in all, I highly recommend this book, especially for readers who have a rather limited biological conception of the idea of evolution. Clearly the book provides an expansive vision of evolutionary thought that goes far beyond biology.

Tom Lombardo

                    

The Art of Worldly Wisdom was written by a Jesuit priest, Baltasar Gracian, 1601 -1658. He taught and preached in Spain.  By studying the behaviour of nobility for many years he was able to formulate 300 maxims for living a successful life. In this volume he primarily focuses on matters of moral subtlety and the treatment of friends, rivals, and enemies. He often refers to the nobility by name and describes their strategies when confronted with difficult situations and dilemmas.   Schopenhauer, who translated it into German, considered this book "Absolutely unique... a book made for constant use...a companion for life" for "those who wish to prosper in the great world." (Source Wikipedia).

Will Hendrie  (A Wisdom Page Reader)

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