Center for Practical Wisdom

09/02/2026

On Dr. Lani Watson's new book Q: The Hidden Power of Questions in a World that Wants Answers

The author and academic explains how an open, questioning mindset can bring people with opposing views closer together – and even change history

08/21/2026

Fairleigh Dickinson University launched their Institute for Character and Leadership this week! We look forward to hearing more about their work in advancing character development, leadership and human flourishing!

https://www.fdu.edu/news/fairleigh-dickinson-university-launches-institute-for-character-and-leadership/

August 19, 2026 — Fairleigh Dickinson University has established the Institute for Character and Leadership (ICL) within the Marion Turpan College of Psychology and Counseling, creating a new interdisciplinary hub dedicated to advancing character development, leadership and human flourishing acros...

08/15/2026

Have you read this month's newsletter with featured pieces from UChicago Magazine on the great work being done by our researchers including Marc Berman & founder Howard Nusbaum?

08/07/2026

Character education in higher Ed study. This survey arose out of a collaborative effort involving the Centro de Educación en Virtudes y Valores at the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, The Oxford Character Project at the University of Oxford, and The Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University.

The study is about how faculty and staff in higher education think about intentional efforts to support the development of students’ character. It will examine how faculty and staff understand what it means to educate for character, what motivates them, and how they seek to do so.

If you are interested in participating, which should take about 10 minutes, you can find more information here: https://leadershipandcharacter.wfu.edu/eci/collective-learning/eci-research/faculty-and-staff-views-on-character-education-opiniones-del-personal-docente-y-administrativo-sobre-la-educacion-del-caracter/

If you know anyone else who might be interested in participating, please share this message with them.

If you have questions about the study, please contact Michael Prinzing ([email protected]) or Becky Park ([email protected]). This study has been reviewed by the Institutional Review Board at Wake Forest University ( #00026437).

This survey arose out of a collaborative effort involving the Centro de Educación en Virtudes y Valores at the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, the Oxford Character Project at the University of Oxford, and the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University. Faculty and [...]

08/04/2026

Review of Valerie Tiberius' book, Artificially Yours: Real Friendships in a world of chatbots

Are there potential benefits to artificial friendships, or is the idea of a mechanical friend sadder or more pathetic than having no friends at all?

07/29/2026

On work by Center Investigator Marc Berman:

Psychologist Marc Berman’s research investigates the restorative power of the great outdoors.

07/28/2026

➡️ Out now:
The Kindly Virtues: Reconceptualising Moral Virtues of Polite Civility

By Kristján Kristjánsson, Professor of Virtue Ethics and Character Education, Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, University of Birmingham, UK

🔵 Learn more: https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/isbn/9781049403663
🟠 Read a free sample chapter online: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781049403670

‘Kristján Kristjánsson has done it again. Perhaps today's leading writer on virtue, he has written a ground-breaking study of polite civility understood in terms of the kindly virtues. In addition to considerateness, intellectual humility, and modesty, the book also discusses important questions surrounding kindness, practical wisdom, and relativism. Highly recommended!’
– Christian B. Miller, Wake Forest University, USA

‘In this wonderfully accessible discussion of kindly virtues, Kristjánsson tells the story of an important set of everyday virtues in a lucid way. His aim, as always, is at truth, not at purity or simplicity.’
– Blaine J. Fowers, University of Miami, USA

This enlightening book identifies a new subset of moral virtues motivated by kindness and adherence to norms of inoffensiveness and agreeableness. Kristján Kristjánsson proposes that these kindly virtues have inherent contextual and cultural specificity, distinguishing them from other kindness-motivated virtues.

Kristján Kristjánsson justifies the creation of a new category of virtues distinct from both the Big-Five trait of agreeableness and Aristotle’s three virtues of agreeableness in everyday encounters. He explores considerateness and intellectual humility, assessing the independent moral value of the kindly virtues and discussing various taxonomies, including Gulliford and Roberts’ allocentric virtues. The book rejects the distinction between morality and manners amidst an increasingly harsh landscape of public debate, suggesting a new moral framework for conglomerating kindness and cultural specificity and addressing rarely discussed counterpoints to traditional virtuous behavioural guidelines.

🔵 Learn more: https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/isbn/9781049403663
🟠 Read a free sample chapter online: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781049403670

07/21/2026

Why major life decisions should be approached with ‘epistemic humility’

In this short video, the professor of philosophy and cognitive science L A Paul argues that there is no way to truly know how you will react to what she calls a ‘transformative experience’.

At a crossroads in life? No matter how much you deliberate, one unknowable remains: the person you will be on the other side

07/17/2026

Call for special issue submissions:
Measurement and Assessment of Psychological Outcomes in Education

Special Issue in journal Education Sciences: Measurement and Assessment of Psychological Outcomes in Education

07/15/2026

The International Neuroethics Society and International Youth Neuroscience Association a call for submissions for the Neuroethics Essay Contest in 2026. Now in its 13th year, the contest promotes interest in among students and trainees around the world.
Share the call with your colleagues and students who are interested in the ethical, legal, clinical, social, and policy considerations raised by brain sciences and technology!

The International Neuroethics Society (INS) and the International Youth Neuroscience Association (IYNA) are pleased to announce a call for submissions for the Neuroethics Essay Contest in 2026. Now in its 13th year, the contest promotes interest in neuroethics among students and trainees around the....