Wonder & Wisdom

This well researched book by the professor of theology and biological sciences at the University of Chester explores the twin themes of of wonder and wisdom in an evolutionary, social and theological context. The author proposes that wonder helps to set the agenda for wisdom and that both represent the efforts of what she calls the imaginative intellect where reason and imagination are brought together in the act of paying attention. In this respect, she quotes Simone Weil as saying that the capacity to pay attention, 'taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. It presupposes faith and love.' the following chapters explore different aspects of wonder and wisdom in the human and natural worlds. Special chapters are devoted to God as wisdom and what she calls crucified wisdom, coming to an integration of the two themes in the final chapter where he suggests that science needs to be imbued with practical wisdom in order to remain responsible. This is a sophisticated and wide-ranging discussion.