The European University – Towards a Wisdom‐Based Society

Abstract

The ‘knowledge society and economy’ need massive intellectual resources and educated people: the Bologna Process reorganizes the European University to face the world of competition. Autonomy and academic freedom are also fundamental values for mass universities to properly serve society. The University must become an ‘agora’ where students and professors interact to create, safeguard, and transmit knowledge; the medieval values – the search for truth, unity of knowledge, openness to the unknown and to other cultures – must be restored. Core competencies, research ethics, and freedom must be developed to contribute to a ‘wisdom society’, for a wide and wise use of knowledge.