| Seeking Wisdom |
An International Electronic Journal of Philosophy, Religion, and Politics
Combating nihilism, despair, and injustice. Charting the next steps in the human civilizational
project.
project.
Editorial Statement
Humanity is defined, first and foremost, by the conscious character of its participation in Being.
We not only create, bringing into Being new and more complex forms of organization; we
understand ourselves to be so doing, and try to understand the meaning of our contributions.
From that meaning we derive the principles which order our actions and our institutions.
It has, historically, been the function of the sapiential disciplines –philosophy and theology—to
lead humanity in deliberation regarding fundamental questions of meaning and value and,
aided by an analysis of social conditions, to direct action in the public arena. The modern era
has, however, been characterized by a marginalization of these disciplines. “Science” has
promised to unlock the secrets of nature bestowing on humanity unlimited power and what,
therefore, amounts to divinity, transforming what were once questions of meaning and value
into problems of formal description and technique. The modern humanities, on the other hand,
heir of the Reformation and the Renaissance, have aimed to become a science of meanings
which can be investigated rationally but embraced, if at all, only on the basis of an ultimately
nonrational decision. Indeed, respectable scholarly work in the humanities has come to be all
but identified with modest commentary and critique. Creative approaches to fundamental
questions rarely, if ever, get a hearing.
Seeking Wisdom aims at nothing less than a restoration of the architectonic function of the
sapiential disciplines by providing a forum for creative approaches to fundamental questions of
meaning and value. The journal’s scope will be global, drawing on contributions from all of
humanity’s principal wisdom traditions, and interdisciplinary, publishing work in philosophy,
theology and religious studies, and related theoretical disciplines. This includes theoretical
work in the physical, biological, and social as well as the humanities which bears in some way
on fundamental questions of meaning and value.
Because our aim is to restore the role of the sapiential disciplines in leading deliberation in the
public area, we will also publish strategic socioreligious and political-theological analysis of
current events. By socioreligious and political-theological analysis, we mean analysis which
situates contemporary political developments in the context not only of the material basis on
which the develop but also the spiritual and civilizational ideals to which they are ordered and
which attempts to decipher the ways in which these factors interact.
The aims of the journal presuppose certain philosophical, theological, and political
commitments. The architectonic role of the sapiential disciplines is predicated on the conviction
that reason can, at the very least, contribute significantly to the cultivation of wisdom. The
inclusion of theology among the wisdoms implies that there are truths which transcend rational
demonstration. And the conviction that philosophy and theology should inform public life points
beyond liberal formalism to a social order in which the allocation of resources reflects
substantive judgments of value and thus a concern for the Common Good. The pages of the
journal will, however, will be open to work from diverse perspectives, including those which do
not share these commitments.
Seeking Wisdom will be published in an open-access, online-only format. One volume will be
published each calendar year, with articles posted as they are approved for publication. In the
interest of publishing timely, incisive analysis, contributions to Seeking Wisdom are not peer-
reviewed.
Seeking Wisdom us the official journal of Seeking Wisdom, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, interfaith
research, education, organizing institute. In the interest of publishing timely, incisive analysis,
contributions to Seeking Wisdom are not peer-reviewed. Editorial authority will be vested in the
Editor and the Editorial Board, members of which will be appointed by the President of Seeking
Wisdom. The Editor will have full authority over all publication decisions.
Membership in the Editorial Board does imply assent to any political or religious ideology, but
only broad support for the purposes of the journal.
Humanity is defined, first and foremost, by the conscious character of its participation in Being.
We not only create, bringing into Being new and more complex forms of organization; we
understand ourselves to be so doing, and try to understand the meaning of our contributions.
From that meaning we derive the principles which order our actions and our institutions.
It has, historically, been the function of the sapiential disciplines –philosophy and theology—to
lead humanity in deliberation regarding fundamental questions of meaning and value and,
aided by an analysis of social conditions, to direct action in the public arena. The modern era
has, however, been characterized by a marginalization of these disciplines. “Science” has
promised to unlock the secrets of nature bestowing on humanity unlimited power and what,
therefore, amounts to divinity, transforming what were once questions of meaning and value
into problems of formal description and technique. The modern humanities, on the other hand,
heir of the Reformation and the Renaissance, have aimed to become a science of meanings
which can be investigated rationally but embraced, if at all, only on the basis of an ultimately
nonrational decision. Indeed, respectable scholarly work in the humanities has come to be all
but identified with modest commentary and critique. Creative approaches to fundamental
questions rarely, if ever, get a hearing.
Seeking Wisdom aims at nothing less than a restoration of the architectonic function of the
sapiential disciplines by providing a forum for creative approaches to fundamental questions of
meaning and value. The journal’s scope will be global, drawing on contributions from all of
humanity’s principal wisdom traditions, and interdisciplinary, publishing work in philosophy,
theology and religious studies, and related theoretical disciplines. This includes theoretical
work in the physical, biological, and social as well as the humanities which bears in some way
on fundamental questions of meaning and value.
Because our aim is to restore the role of the sapiential disciplines in leading deliberation in the
public area, we will also publish strategic socioreligious and political-theological analysis of
current events. By socioreligious and political-theological analysis, we mean analysis which
situates contemporary political developments in the context not only of the material basis on
which the develop but also the spiritual and civilizational ideals to which they are ordered and
which attempts to decipher the ways in which these factors interact.
The aims of the journal presuppose certain philosophical, theological, and political
commitments. The architectonic role of the sapiential disciplines is predicated on the conviction
that reason can, at the very least, contribute significantly to the cultivation of wisdom. The
inclusion of theology among the wisdoms implies that there are truths which transcend rational
demonstration. And the conviction that philosophy and theology should inform public life points
beyond liberal formalism to a social order in which the allocation of resources reflects
substantive judgments of value and thus a concern for the Common Good. The pages of the
journal will, however, will be open to work from diverse perspectives, including those which do
not share these commitments.
Seeking Wisdom will be published in an open-access, online-only format. One volume will be
published each calendar year, with articles posted as they are approved for publication. In the
interest of publishing timely, incisive analysis, contributions to Seeking Wisdom are not peer-
reviewed.
Seeking Wisdom us the official journal of Seeking Wisdom, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, interfaith
research, education, organizing institute. In the interest of publishing timely, incisive analysis,
contributions to Seeking Wisdom are not peer-reviewed. Editorial authority will be vested in the
Editor and the Editorial Board, members of which will be appointed by the President of Seeking
Wisdom. The Editor will have full authority over all publication decisions.
Membership in the Editorial Board does imply assent to any political or religious ideology, but
only broad support for the purposes of the journal.
