Sources of Wisdom

How do disruptive experiences change a person’s view of the world and what matters in life?

Kylemore Abbey, a gray stone building with crenellated towers, sits beside a lake reflecting its image. Lush green foliage covers the hillside rising behind the abbey under a misty sky. A tree branch frames the top left corner. — Kylemore Abbey

A group of academics from the United States, Canada, Poland, Austria, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Germany gathered at the Notre Dame Global Centre at Kylemore Abbey in early May 2025 to talk about the connection between disruptive experiences and wisdom. Clemens Sedmak, professor of social ethics and director of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, created and hosted the event with the support of postdoctoral research fellow and ethicist Yiran Hua (Brown University). The group of a dozen participants included Kathleen Higgins (University of Texas at Austin), Julianne Chung (York University), and Jiri Holba (Oriental Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences).

In a confidential exchange, Sources of Wisdom explored different aspects of disruptive experiences and their impact on ways of seeing the world and “being in the world.”

This event was made possible through the support of the Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Center for Virtue Ethics in the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good at the University of Notre Dame.