The choices human beings make in directing attention and cultivating habits of mind, in ourselves and in others, shape our values and our conceptions of the world. The Virtues of Attention project at New York University aims to nurture a cross-cultural, cosmopolitan conversation about the nature of attention and its role in the pursuit of wisdom.

William James characterized attention as “the very root of judgment, character, and will”, and the research of our group demonstrates the importance of attention in diverse cultural traditions, as well as in traditions of philosophy and in recent cognitive science. 

Our methodology is based in the emerging field of cosmopolitan philosophy. Rather than simply noting areas of convergence between different philosophical traditions, our aim is to foster respectful and yet critical dialogue between a plurality of cultural perspectives. These conversations will challenge and refine existing views on all sides, and to open new avenues for rigorous philosophical and empirical research as well as for practical experiments.

Convened by Jonardon Ganeri (NYU Abu Dhabi) and Jake Davis (NYU Abu Dhabi).