Truth, beauty, and goodness are more than traditional ideas--they are living realities bearing dynamic potentials for a future we can help create. As we grow, these supreme values increasingly guide our thinking, feeling, and doing. No matter what your philosophical, religious, or spiritual orientation may be, having a philosophy of living centered on these ideals will enhance your understanding and integration.
Seasoned by the author's experience in leading thousands of students through experiential projects, Living in Truth, Beauty, and Goodness contains all the essential ingredients to help you develop your own personal philosophy. Your guides are Darwin, Socrates, Jesus, Bach, and other world-class pioneers whose strengths and insights can inspire you to develop a resilient and virtuous character.
As you explore truths in science, philosophy, and spiritual experience; beauty in nature and the arts; and goodness in morality and character, you will be encouraged to transplant what is proposed here into the garden of your own concepts and then creatively to put the emerging meanings and values into practice.
"Wattles makes a significant contribution to the exciting reemergence of the value triad of truth, beauty, and goodness--a powerful philosophical technology that can be used for both personal growth and social service. Wattles grounds his message through insightful biographical explorations of the lives of exemplary leaders who have lived out these most intrinsic values. Highly recommended!"
--Steve McIntosh, Author, The Presence of the Infinite: The Spiritual Experience of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness; President, The Institute for Cultural Evolution
"This is no ordinary book! Combining religion, philosophy, science, art, and ethics in a practical, how-to endeavor, Wattles invites readers on a transformative journey. The ideas have been trial-tested in the lives of his students over the decades, as the anecdotes and stories note. The insights and instructions herein make this a book I plan to reread often!"
--Thomas Jay Oord, Author, The Uncontrolling Love of God
"Jeffrey Wattles's timely new book provides an inspiring paradigm of an open-ended learning style that constantly transcends its borders. Drawing upon significant thinkers and doers, as well as his own academic and personal experience, Wattles charts a journey inspired by the ideals of truth, beauty, and goodness to illustrate how these ideals can become integral to one's being. In so doing, he challenges us to incorporate these themes in our own life's journey."
--Kathleen M. O'Connell, Author, Rabindranath Tagore: The Poet as Educator
"This is a must-read for seekers of truth in a postmodern, post-Christian culture. Wattles invites the reader into integrative thinking, erasing the false dichotomy between science and religion. The grace with which he introduces seminal thinkers such as Darwin, Aristotle, [and] Jesus is refreshing! Stories from his journey and students encourage us to practice a philosophy of living in truth, beauty, and goodness!"
--Mary B. Blessing, Episcopal Priest, Rector of St. Philip the Apostle Episcopal Church, Scotts Valley, CA
Jeffrey Wattles is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Kent State University. He authored The Golden Rule (Oxford University Press) and has written articles on religious experience, environmental aesthetics, and the concept of purpose in cosmology and biology. Professor Wattles has led more than three thousand students through experiential projects in introductory philosophy, world religions, philosophy of religion, philosophy of religious experience, aesthetics, and ethics. His wife is Japanese, and their son works in Tokyo.
