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psychopharmacology and euthanasia. One of the most successful parts of the course was the section we devoted to disease. Drawing on his research, Chip explained the basic biochemistry of cancer and diabetes, and I discussed recent philosophical debates about the biological and political implications of autoimmune processes. While the lectures were demanding and the readings were difficult, the response of students was overwhelmingly positive. I should also stress that this course was extremely challenging for Chip and me. It takes a serious commitment, much hard work and lots of time to reach a level of competence that allows you to teach a course like this. But after teaching the course twice, Chip and I are convinced that it was well worth the effort.

Our experience in this course can serve as a guide in designing new Emerging Zones. To glimpse how such an inquiry might be organized and how it would differ from work in traditional departments and disciplines, consider briefly two possible areas of study: the first is an extension of my work with Chip (body, health and disease), and the second grows out of a collaboration with a colleague in the Williams Department of Economics (money). In today’s university, these subjects are studied in a broad range of departments and even different professional schools. There is, however, little or no effort to bring together faculty members and students in ways that integrate different perspectives and approaches. Indeed, as my former student Harvey pointed out, in medical schools, research has become so specialized that the consideration of particular organs, diseases and syndromes often preoccupies a person for his or her entire career and precludes any consideration of the body as a whole, to say nothing of broader factors related to bodily well-being. And yet, it is obvious that any adequate study of the body, health and disease requires insights drawn not only from the natural sciences but also from the social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, economics, political science), and contributions by schools of social work, law, business and public policy. No less important, I would insist, are the arts and humanities. Philosophy, art and literature can help people understand, treat and cope with questions related to the body, health and disease.

Consider, for example, how the problem of diabetes, which Chip and I included in our course, might be studied if it were approached in the context of an Emerging Zone. This is not an inconsequential issue, since the current epidemic of diabetes is a ticking time bomb in our health care system—scientists predict that between one half and two thirds of the children now being born in this country will become diabetic. The causes of this epidemic are not only medical but social, political, economic, environmental and psychological as well. The only way we can begin to meet the challenges this epidemic poses is by bringing together experts and professionals from all of these fields to share their knowledge and develop productive strategies. An effective program embracing the body, health and disease would encourage an integrative approach that would enrich research and teaching, while at the same time promoting more effective policies and practices within and beyond the university.

The recent financial crisis and continuing volatility of global financial markets have made it clear that we need to develop a more comprehensive and sophisticated understanding of economic processes. An Emerging Zone would be perfectly suited to this. Far too many faculty members in economics departments and business schools are enamored of physics and try to model human behavior with abstract algorithms designed to manage risk by calculating probabilities. This approach, however, leaves the human factor out of the equation. In the past couple of years, a promising new area of investigation called behavioral economics has emerged. So far, economists working on these problems have confined their research to cognitive science and evolutionary psychology. The research