Yesterday’s note on a cure for whining is, in my mind, a specimen of wisdom literature.
When I was a student decades ago and asked whether one of the university’s departments offered a course, I was told that wisdom literature had a long history but was out of fashion.
A friend and I have been discussing the advice these bits of wisdom contain. Are they religious practices? That implies a belief in God or the gods, which some of these writers didn’t have. Are they spiritual practices? That might imply the existence of an immortal soul, separate from body. Again, that’s a belief that some of these writers didn’t have.
Against sound criticism, I think of these recommended habits as “practices.” I acknowledge that people practice the world’s great religions, as well law, medicine, basketball, yoga and piano. I concede that my use of the word “practice” might invite some confusing comparisons to all those other practices. But it’s the best I can do today.
What would you call them?
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