Underpinning this effort is a budget of 2 million dollars (stated on the web site) One of the efforts is to select individuals who have their Ph.D. for less than ten years and fund their exploration. The questions just multiply, for example:
1) why should wisdom be found in a "university" or by those who reside within such an institution. History has not shown such wisdom to be found in Ivory Towers. And particularly within the ranks of junior faculty or young Ph.D.'s whose career is tied to publish/perish in accepted publications which represent conventional "wisdom".
2) Throughout history few "wise persons" have been depicted as youths, with certain exceptions such as Christ for example, and it is not clear, even in the present day, that the locus of individuals rests inside the Ivory Tower.
Yes, some have argued for the Ivory Tower- Nick Maxwell in England; and recently with the rise of virtual worlds, several academics have suggested that the philosophical underpinnings for these world creations should be led by academics. Yet that leadership has failed to materialize with any credibility
John Brockman has suggested that the humanities have turned inward and defaulted, yielding the bully pulpit to the sciences, creating what he calls a 3rd Culture.
Not since Plato penned his Republic has there been so many wanting to claim the crown and scepter of philosopher king, particularly from within The Academy.
Should we trust the "wisdom" of "The Academy" to seek the lead?
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