The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust

(Hardback, Large Print Edition)

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From national treasure Francis Collins (Philip Yancey), the New York Times bestselling author of The Language of God and former director of the National Institutes of Health, comes a deeply thoughtful guidebook to get us beyond societal divisions and back to the sources of wisdom"the sort that can save us before it is too late (Jane Goodall).

As the COVID-19 pandemic revealed, we have become not just a hyper-partisan society but also a deeply cynical one, distrustful of traditional sources of knowledge and wisdom. Skepticism about vaccines led to the needless deaths of at least 230,000 Americans. Do your own research is now a rallying cry in many online rabbit holes. Yet experts can make mistakes, and institutions can lose their moral compass. So how can we navigate through all this

In The Road to Wisdom, Francis Collins reminds us of the four core sources of judgement and clear thinking: truth, science, faith, and trust. Drawing on his work from the Human Genome Project and heading the National Institutes of Health, as well as on ethics, philosophy, and Christian theology, Collins makes a robust, thoughtful case for each of these sourcestheir reliability, and their limits. Ultimately, he shows how they work together, not separatelyand certainly not in conflict. It is only when we relink these four foundations of wisdom that we can begin to discern the best path forward in life.

Thoughtful, accessible, winsome, and deeply wise, The Road to Wisdom leads us beyond current animosities to surer footing. Here is the moral, philosophical, and scientific framework with which to address the problems of our timeincluding distrust of public health, partisanship, racism, response to climate change, and threats to our democracybut also to guide us in our daily lives. This is a book that will repay many readings, and resolve dilemmas that we all face every day.

Reviews

Through his leadership of the Human Genome Project, Dr. Francis Collins revealed the simple truth that we are all far more alike than we are different. Now, in his thoughtful book The Road to Wisdom, he urges us to have the courage and humility to bridge our divides, embrace what we have in common, and rebuild a fractured society. When Dr. Collins speaks, I listenand his message is more important now than ever.

 President Bill Clinton

In The Road to Wisdom, Francis Collinsa distinguished scientist as well as a former atheist who found meaning in the Christian faithdraws on his own deep, diverse experiences as he leads us through a maze of conflicting beliefs and opinions in search of wisdom: the sort that can save us before it is too late. This book should be read by anyone, Christian and non-Christian alike, who is seeking meaning or trying to make sense of our troubled times.Jane Goodall

Author Bio

Francis S. Collins is a physician and geneticist. His groundbreaking work has led to the discovery of the cause of cystic fibrosis, among other diseases. In 1993 he was appointed director of the international Human Genome Project, which successfully sequenced all 3 billion letters of our DNA. He went on to serve three Presidents as the Director of the National Institutes of Health.