Cooperative Wisdom – Bringing People Together When Things Fall Apart

Cooperative Wisdom
232 Pages
ISBN 978-0-9971668-1-1

Why, despite their best efforts, do good people find themselves in conflict? Cooperative Wisdom: Bringing People Together When Things Fall Apart introduces a unique approach to ethics that consistently dissolves conflict, restores good will, builds common purpose and helps people thrive. Gleaned from years of scholarship, this insightful approach to conflict resolution is effective in boardrooms and family rooms, classrooms and committees, faith communities and political parties.

Written as a spirited exchange between an acclaimed philosopher and an inquisitive journalist, Cooperative Wisdom has the energetic, inviting feel of a great conversation. For each of five social virtues, the book recommends three practical strategies that will help readers harness the power of the virtues. Readers gain insight into how these practices work through engaging examples drawn from history, current events, family life, and even scripture.

Cooperative Wisdom will appeal to anyone frustrated by disruptive change and disputes that seem to have no solution. By providing clear and practical guidance that expands our understanding of what it means to be and do good in a complex world, Cooperative Wisdom equips readers to respond constructively to change, transcend intractable conflict and strengthen the communities on which our well-being depends.

Carolyn Jabs

About Carolyn Jabs (Los Angeles, California Author)

Carolyn Jabs

For over three decades, Carolyn Jabs has written about families, ethics, environmental issues and the Internet. Her work has been published in dozens of magazines including Reader's Digest, Newsweek, Redbook and the New York Times. She was a Contributing Editor at Home PC and Family PC, and her monthly column, Growing Up Online, appears in parenting publications across the country. Her book, The Heirloom Gardener, is often cited as one of the inspirations for the revival of heirloom vegetables.

Carolyn's most recent project is Cooperative Wisdom, a book about how to restore constructive cooperation in the face of conflict and change. Written as a conversation between a teacher and a learner, the book and grew out of work Carolyn did while earning her M.A. in Practical Ethics from Bowling Green State University. She and her co-author, Dr. Donald Scherer, maintain a blog at cooperativewisdom/org.

Dr. Donald Scherer

About Dr. Donald Scherer (Co-Author)

Dr. Donald Scherer

Dr. Donald Scherer developed the Environmental Ethics component in the prestigious graduate program in Applied Philosophy at Bowling Green State University. He has written and lectured extensively about sustainability issues for many years. His books include Upstream/Downstream: Issues in Environmental Ethics (Temple University), We Never Aimed at Blight (California Academic Press), Our Greener Ways (California Academic Press) and Two Paths Towards Peace (Temple University).

As advisor to the Environmental Policy program at BGSU, he facilitated capstone courses in which student experts advised the university on programs and policy that broaden and deepen their sustainability. Although Dr. Scherer retired in 2003, such capstone courses are still regularly conducted, with research and reports requested by regional public officials as well as university administrators.

In addition to his career as an academic, Don has regularly bridged the gap between theory and practice. He facilitated pioneering renewable partnerships among Bowling Green State University, a local utility, the Ohio Department of Development and the Electric Vehicle Research Institute. He has consulted with NOAA on the ethics of oil spill remediation. He has worked with private and public universities, from Santa Clara University to University of New Hampshire and from University of North Georgia to Bowling Green State University. He is currently working with regional church officials of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), local and regional governmental organizations, the Alternative Fuel Institute, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Palmer Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and he has co-produced documentaries including “Wind Power: Coming at Age in Ohio” and “Heritage of a River” for public television.

Don lives what he preaches. He and his wife have built a green home, powered by a wind turbine, which has become a local landmark.