Courses and Workshops

Practical Wisdom

Barry Schwartz
Tuesday, Sep. 17, 2024, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM (PT)
Repeats every Tuesday until Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024
Price: $165.00
139 slots available
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"Sculpture of Aristotle with pencil behind ear"

What is practical wisdom? When do we need it? What forces threaten it? And what can encourage and nurture it? We will investigate these questions in several domains of life—friendship, education, work, medicine, law, and family. We will also investigate these questions more theoretically, in the hope of developing a solid understanding of what makes wisdom or judgment a crucial component of our lives. Throughout the course, we will be contrasting decision-making that depends on practical wisdom, with decision making that depends on following various kinds of rules or responding to external rewards and punishments. We will also assess the benefits and costs of moral codes based on rules vs. moral codes based on good judgment.

Faculty Bio

Barry Schwartz taught at Swarthmore College for 45 years before joining Berkeley Haas. He writes about the interaction between economics, psychology, and morality. His books include The Paradox of Choice and Practical Wisdom. His TED talks have been viewed by more than 25 million people. He taught "How We Decide" with us last year to great acclaim.

This is an In-Person, Livestreamed + Recorded Course

  • Classes will meet in person at the Golden Bear Center, Suite 365, at 1995 University Ave., Berkeley
  • Classes will stream live simultaneously, and be video recorded
  • You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program.

Schedule Highlights

  • Course starts on Tuesday, Sept. 17, and ends on Tuesday, Oct. 22
  • Classes meet for 6 weeks, 2 hours per session (1–3pm)
  • Videos will post on Fridays in Member Dashboards
  • All course materials, including videos, will remain available to view and enjoy through Dec. 31

Member Praise for Barry Schwartz

I loved Prof. Schwarz’s enthusiastc, lively lectures and very much appreciated his real life examples of decisionmaking that made the topic so relevant to our lives. He brought what I anticipated as a dull topic to life and made it very engaging! Excellent lecturer!!!

All material covered was interesting, relevant and deeply thought-provoking. I was greatly impressed at how clear and simple such complicated topics could be explored and presented so successfully to an audience with a widely differing background in all topics covered.

Faculty Interview