Author and journalist Miriam Stein will join us to present on her newest book project, Weise Frauen. 

Miriam Stein writes:
The modern idea of wisdom as a character trait hails from Berlin, developed by psychologist Paul Baltes at the Max-Planck-Institute in Berlin in the 1990s. Wisdom, argues Baltes, is more than just expertise and knowledge, but a complex paradigm of different characteristics. From Berlin, his applied wisdom studies has inspired a handful of academics from around the world to continue his work; applied wisdom is currently being researched at the University of Florida, Chicago and  Klagenfurt in Austria. I am intrigued - because wisdom, once thought of as the highest form of the human intellect, has seemed to have disappeared from our daily lives. Why? Did ageism kill wisdom? Has the sage been removed by longevity experts and wellness-gurus? And, is there such a thing as „female wisdom“?
An aging German population needs to transform to face a challenging future. People in the second half of their lives are viewed as „ruining the younger generations' promise of prosperity“ because of the general costs of pensions and medical care. We are in desperate need of a more positive approach, a new cross-generational bond to face the future. Can wisdom help? How can the sage be revived for the 21st century? 

Photo credit: Robert Rieger