Study as a form of wisdom

*This is a rough draft written in 2000.
*Please see an edited version in this paper, 2003.

The Declaration of Life Studies: Six Proposals
Nov.19, 2000 by Masahiro Morioka (International Network for Life Studies)

1. Study as a form of wisdom
Life studies is a vivid movement of our wisdom in which we explore the meaning of life, death and nature, struggle against our inner desire, and try to find a way of resolving contemporary issues concerning life, such as the genetic manipulation of human life, the exploitation of the environment, and many other problems we ourselves have created through the centuries.

Note: Life studies is not "science" in the contemporary sense of the word. Life studies is wisdom, not objective knowledge. The wisdom of life studies is subjective, but it is highly synthesized. The aim of science is to increase the objective knowledge. Life studies does not have such an aim. The important thing for life studies is to transform ourselves and our civilization, to "express" what we have learnt from our own life experiences, and to communicate with each other. A positive reassessment of subjective wisdom is needed. We will have to create a new methodology for the study of life that is completely different from that of "modern science". Life studies resembles "philosophy" in its original sense in ancient Greece.

>> To read more please visit:

What is Life Studies
(2004)
(You can read the entire text)