The concept of a “Wisdom Civilization” and the ideal of a single “World Civilization” have emerged as a positive civilizational horizon in recent CCR volumes. Andrew Targowski’s “Beyond War: Building Wisdom Civilization to Rescue Humanity” in v94 is the most explicit statement of this horizon: a Wisdom Civilization is one whose institutions, education systems, and economic arrangements are oriented toward the cultivation and application of wisdom — practical wisdom (phronesis), intellectual humility, civilizational memory, intergenerational responsibility, and the capacity for self-correction.

Vlad Alalykin-Izvekov’s “Andrew Targowski – Educating for Wisdom” in v87 is an earlier statement of this approach, situated against the cultural pessimism of Spengler and the calamity-and-reconstruction of Sorokin.

In v94, Kōji Yoshino’s “Toward the Ideal of a World Civilization: Progressive Exploration by Japanese Scholars” traces how Japanese scholars — including the Kyoto School and more recent civilizational theorists — have progressively explored the ideal of a single world civilization.

Arthur Michelino’s “Extending Norbert Elias: Adjacency and the Dynamics of Civilizations” in v94 extends Norbert Elias’s civilizational-process theory with the concept of “adjacency,” arguing that civilizations are shaped not only by their internal dynamics but by their relations to adjacent civilizations. The article draws on Elias’s The Civilizing Process (1939).

“East Meets West at Chuncheon: Who Has the Best Representation of Wisdom, Knowledge, and Contemplation?” in v94 engages the East-West encounter at Chuncheon, South Korea, as a case study in the comparative representation of wisdom.

The Salamanca-style conference in v89 (“Panegyrists of Civilization”) and the discussions of “Balancing, Judging” engage the comparative judgment of civilizations.

Source summaries:

  • v65 (Fall 2011) — Lynn Rhodes, “The Globalization of Parks — Public Trust Resource Protection Worldwide.” (v65)
  • v87 (Fall 2022) — Vlad Alalykin-Izvekov, “Andrew Targowski – Educating for Wisdom.” (v87)
  • v89 (Fall 2023) — “Panegyrists of Civilization,” “Balancing, Judging,” and “What is Civilization?” engage comparative civilizational judgment. (v89)
  • v91 (Fall 2024) — “Cognosis and the Evolution of Civilization” (drawing on Francis Bacon’s vision). (v91)
  • v94 (Spring 2026) — Andrew Targowski, “Beyond War: Building Wisdom Civilization to Rescue Humanity”; Kōji Yoshino, “Toward the Ideal of a World Civilization: Progressive Exploration by Japanese Scholars”; Arthur Michelino, “Extending Norbert Elias: Adjacency and the Dynamics of Civilizations”; “East Meets West at Chuncheon.” (v94)