learn about Jason Merchey
Jason Merchey is the founder of Values of the Wise and a philosophical thinker, master’s level psychologist, a proponent of the research ideal, social critic, author/essayist/blogger, and a student of the tradition of arts and letters. Growing up Jewish in a suburb of Los Angeles, he grappled with sociocultural, familial, religious, psychological, and self-motivation issues that led to much of the insight he has today. After junior college, Jason earned a bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in psychology and social behavior from the University of California Irvine. Shortly after, he received an induction into Phi Beta Kappa for excellence in liberal scholarship. Jason went on to earn a master’s degree in clinical psychology from California State University Fullerton. Having moved to San Diego, he obtained thousands of hours of experience counseling clients of all types; In this capacity, Jason became intrigued and began to study wisdom, values, and ethics.
Here we are, thousands of years after Socrates, still trying to figure out what happiness has to do with justice.
The Values of the Wise™ website and book series were born to lead Jason and his clients to find insight, consolation, and wisdom from great quotations representing our intellectual heritage. He admires how Dale Carnegie framed his honoring of ancient wisdom to fuse that heritage with modern, relevant, progressive values and ideals: “The ideas I stand for are not mine. I borrowed them from Socrates, swiped them from Chesterfield, stole them from Jesus, and put them in a book. If you don’t like their rules, who would you use?” This quotation about wisdom from Albert Einstein also inspires Jason: “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”
Jason’s first book was a book of quotations entitled Values of the Wise: Profound and Witty Words of Wisdom to Inspire and Empower Us (2003). Since then, there have been three well-regarded, top-shelf books on the concept of “a life of value.” The most recent book has been well-reviewed and award-winning: Values & Ethics: From Living Room to Boardroom. These books primarily utilize quotes and stories about values, wisdom, and self-motivation for improving one’s life and gaining valuable insights. It has been a pleasure and a challenge to finally amass 30,000 quotations about “the values of the wise.” Jason is still a dedicated reader, student, and lifelong learner.
Jason lives in Hendersonville, NC, with his wife and pets. He also earned a graduate certificate in philosophy and ethics from Harvard University Extension.
Feel free to contact Jason Merchey with any questions, comments, issues, or purchase requests.
