Book reviewed by Kathlyn Ronaldson, June 2025
The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust
by Francis S. Collins
London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2024; 241 pages
ISBN 9781399822329, paperback
AU$35

This book is very timely and important, having the purpose of addressing the polarisation of society,  which extends across all political spheres and includes political positions (left vs right), response to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, Israel’s actions in Gaza, race-relations and many other areas. This polarisation is particularly apparent in the US but it is also present in Australia and New Zealand. The author has been central to public health decisions and advice and also has made multiple constructive attempts to communicate across the divide.

Francis Collins was the Director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH; until the end of 2021) after he had completed the Human Genome Project of which he was Head. In this book, Collins is seeking to illustrate how we can move forward in harmony despite disagreement, and how we can discern where the truth lies despite being assailed by a multitude of voices, particularly many expressing outrage.

As NIH Director, Collins had a key role during the COVID-19 pandemic, including drawing together the people and resources required to fast-track vaccine development and clinical testing. At the time he stepped down from his role at the NIH, he was still mulling over the breakdown in the trust of science and that 230,000 Americans had died unnecessarily because of vaccine refusal. In this context, he agreed to speak at a debate organised by Braver Angels, entitled “An Elitist and a Deplorable Walk into a Bar.” His opposing speaker was Adam “Wilk” Wilkinson whose case was that public health decisions imposed blanket restrictions and recommendations across the nation without consideration for local and individual situations. Collins was able to admit that Wilk had highlighted ways the response had been imperfect, but he also pointed out that the government was in crisis mode and given the risk to life presented by the virus, collateral damage was impossible to avoid.

After describing this episode Collins lists four essential goods: truth, science, faith, and trust, which form the frame of the book. In Chapter 2, “Truth,” he illustrates different levels of truth, using a diagram of concentric circles, with the centre being “necessary truth” (for example, 2 + 2 = 4), the second circle “firmly established facts” (for example, Earth is a sphere), the third circle “uncertainty” (for example, life exists on other planets) and the outer circle “opinion.” He uses Jonathan Haidt’s metaphor of the rider and the elephant, where the rider is conscious reasoning and the elephant is all other impulses, to indicate how readily we are controlled by cognitive bias, despite what we imagine to be the case. He suggests that each of us has a metaphorical “web of belief” with beliefs held passionately at the centre and beliefs that are important to us but less critical further out from the centre. Comparing these webs of belief can help us to find common ground with those with whom we have disagreements. Collins urges prolonged listening and generosity of spirit where there is disagreement.

In the chapter on “Science,” Collins describes some of the achievements of science, particularly those from mapping the genome, triple therapy for cystic fibrosis, CRISPR to knock out the faulty gene in sickle cell disease, and the use of check point inhibitors to treat former President Jimmy Carter’s melanoma. And yet, despite the many successes, a Pew Research Centre Poll found that only 29% of Americans said they had confidence in scientists to act in the best interest of the public.

“Faith,” the fourth chapter, describes his journey to faith from atheism at age 26 years, and his firm belief in evolutionary creation leading to the formation of the online resource, BioLogos (https://biologos.org/). During a meeting with Christopher Hitchens (“Hitch”), one of the “Four Horsemen of the Atheistic Apocalypse,” he was dealt an insulting response to a question, but in one-to-one conversation afterwards, Collins found Hitch to be warm and engaging. From this meeting, a friendship developed leading to Collins’ guiding Hitch to enrol in a clinical trial involving precision oncology following genome sequencing of his oesophageal cancer. Hitch eventually succumbed. Collins confesses “I miss him” (p. 157). While not explicit, I think this account is intended to illustrate that we can have friendships involving mutual appreciation across faith divides. Nevertheless, Collins is convinced of the truth and societal value of the Christian faith. He urges Christians to develop critical thinking, which was lacking in rejection of COVID vaccination.

In the penultimate chapter, “Trust,” Collins proposes four interlocking criteria when deciding whom (person or institution) to trust: competence, integrity, humility, and aligned values. He is cautious about the last of these since it “may severely limit our opportunity to learn from objective experts who don’t happen to inhabit our same bubble” (p. 189). During the height of the pandemic Collins worked closely with Anthony Fauci, and indeed Fauci reported to Collins. Collins laments the unwarranted distrust and threats of physical violence Fauci faced for his advice. Collins’ assessment: Fauci is “the greatest public servant I have ever known” (p. 194).

In the final chapter, “Hope and a plan of action,” Collins advises that our “mental immunity” can be disrupted or go into overdrive, leading to our being infected by falsehoods or inoculated against the truth. Therefore, we should prepare our minds, by anticipating objections to truth claims. Here he gives examples regarding climate change. We should also subscribe to reliable news sources and avoid making and sampling statements of outrage. We should engage with those with differing opinions, not to win arguments, but to listen, learn, and foster our own curiosity. He asserts that the worst outcome of the current polarisation is withdrawal from the political process as nations need leaders with vision and character. The book ends with an invitation to make a pledge to take action to engage.

The book’s writing style draws the reader in with both principles and illustrative examples, and the author’s faith shines through as a guide and a beacon of hope. The book is intended for all readers, but Collins would consider academics of any discipline to have a particular responsibility to take up his challenge. The one objection I have is that Collins does not mention the importance of prayer. This may be because Christians are renowned for using prayer as a copout, but without God’s blessing, our efforts will come to nothing.

Many readers will be interested to know that Tim Keller, in his dying months, urged Collins to write this book and the book is dedicated to him.