John Kaag’s fascinating new book about the German thinker seeks to tether philosophy back to the mess of daily experience.

IT'S AN UNFORTUNATE fact that the pricey pocket computers we carry around with us at all times are prime targets for thieves—as well as very easy to leave behind in subway cars or on coffee shop tables. Now that we all rely on our smartphones for so much, having one stolen or misplaced can feel like the end of the world. But it doesn't have to be, not quite. Here are the preparations you can take before the worst happens, and what to do if it does.

Eating meat is a symbol of power and status, and those who see themselves as having lower socio-economic status prefer meat, and eat more meat, due to this perception, according to new research from Monash University and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). The paper, published this week in the journal Appetite, found participants who rated themselves lower on socio-economic status showed a stronger preference for meat-based foods compared to participants who rated themselves higher on a socio-economic scale.

It’s been touted as the recipe for a healthy life, preventing all manner of ills. Now researchers say a Mediterranean diet still offers benefits in older age and could reduce the risk of death. While somewhat nebulous in specific makeup, the diet is typically said to be rich in fish, nuts, fresh vegetables, olive oil and fruit.

I grew up in a suburb of Detroit, in a house near a dead end, which my parents bought in 1992. They paid for it with a conventional mortgage that they had the misfortune of refinancing in January 2008. A series of disasters followed, all of which would have been previously unthinkable. Within a matter of months, investment banks like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers collapsed from having taken on too much risk, predominantly in the housing market, and by the fall of that year both of my parents had lost their jobs.

There’s nothing virtuous about “early to bed, early to rise.” By Kate Shellnutt. (Feb. 27, 2017)

Don't like your Uber rating? Well, in a not-so-distant future, you just might have a score for everything else in your life.

As living expenses rise but wage growth remains subdued, Australians are increasingly needing to overspend and dip into their savings. That was the key finding of ME Bank's latest "financial comfort" report, which surveyed 1,500 people about how they perceived their own financial wellbeing in the first half of 2018. The steepest decline was observed when people were asked how confident they felt about their short-term cash savings.

A boom in construction for the high end of the market comes as prices continue to rise for the poorest.

Nearly a third of young adults in a recent study were found to be “financially precarious” because they had poor financial literacy and lacked money management skills and income stability. Only 22 percent of the 18- to 24-year-olds in the study sample were deemed to be financially stable, according to lead author Gaurav Sinha, a graduate student in social work at the University of Illinois.

Employers are bellyaching about a lack of workers to fill jobs, but they're not willing to pay more to attract them.

A major new study questions the common wisdom about how we should choose our careers.

The New Zealand company behind a landmark trial of a four-day working week has concluded it an unmitigated success, with 78% of employees feeling they were able to successfully manage their work-life balance, an increase of 24%. Two-hundred-and-forty staff at Perpetual Guardian, a company which manages trusts, wills and estate planning, trialled a four-day working week over March and April, working four, eight-hour days but getting paid for five.

Is life more expensive for America’s millennials? We may hate to admit it, but yes. New data reveal millennials don’t earn as much, pay more for higher education and put off home purchases longer than Gen Xers and baby boomers did. Note a stunning report from the news site Axios, which shows just how the cost of living has risen for Americans aged 25 to 34 today, vs. Americans of the same ages in the year 1977 when adjusted for inflation

Children face a lower risk of suicidal behavior if their parents are religious, according to new research published in JAMA Psychiatry. The study found that parents’ belief in the importance of religion was associated with a lower risk for suicidal behavior by their children, regardless of a child’s own beliefs.

Death is perhaps one of the most terrifying concepts a human being can grapple with... By Mustapha Itani.

Four in 10 Americans are struggling to pay for their basic needs such as groceries or housing, a problem even middle-class households confront, according to a new study from the Urban Institute. Despite the U.S. economy being near full employment, 39.4 percent of adults between 18 and 64 years old said they experienced at least one type of material hardship in 2017, according to the study, which surveyed more than 7,500 adults about whether they had trouble paying for housing, utilities, food or health care.

Rising rents are leading Americans to live in cars and other vehicles

The $8 detail in the Globe’s Spotlight series on race in Boston is not a typo. The median net worth for non-immigrant African-American households in the Greater Boston region is $8, according to “The Color of Wealth in Boston,” a 2015 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Duke University, and the New School.

Tom Coomer has retired twice: once when he was 65, and then several years ago. Each time he realized that with just a Social Security check, “You can hardly make it these days.”

NYU surgeons hope a 3-D printed reproduction will encourage people to donate the faces of dying family members for use as transplants.

Harry Bertschmann started his art career exhibiting alongside Mark Rothko and Franz Kline. For the next 60 years, he painted in almost total obscurity. Now he wants to get discovered.

A Heartbreaking letter written by a dying young woman is going viral after she passed away last week.

My grandmother wrapped the branch in a damp cloth and hid it in her black coat. “If the ficus takes root here then I’ll take root too,” she said.

We might direct assistance to the millions of Americans whose suffering is as bad as that of poor people in Africa or Asia.

Good archival practices might not be exciting, but they could be the key to keeping your family history intact for future generations.

For 20 million Americans, staying home sick is a luxury. Every year, that many people go to work with a virus or infection because they don’t have paid sick leave, even though research shows that staying home prevents the flu from spreading. And during a nasty flu season like this one—we’re now likely in for a record-setting year—doctors and public health officials urge Americans to take every precaution they can to avoid spreading the potentially deadly virus.

The government should give £10,000 to every citizen under 55, a report suggests.

It looks like quaint Americana. But this museum was born from one man's hatred.

Ex-employees of the Internet Research Agency, which was indicted last week over meddling in the 2016 election, described their often bizarre work lives.

When it comes to making it into your 90s, booze actually beats exercise, according to a long-term study. The research, led by University of California neurologist Claudia Kawas, tracked 1,700 nonagenarians enrolled in the 90+ Study that began in 2003 to explore impacts of daily habits on longevity.

We should provide a guaranteed income of $500 a month for every working adult who makes less than $50,000, argues Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes

The number of employed Australians seeking help for homelessness has jumped by almost 30% in three years, sparking concerns that stagnant wage growth and high housing costs are pushing workers to the brink. The Victorian-based Council to Homeless Persons has released an analysis showing 20,302 employed Australians sought homelessness support in 2016-17, well up from 15,931 in 2013-14.

It’s hard to know what to do when age brings a faithful companion so much fear and suffering.

In an unprecedented challenge to Walt Disney Co., a coalition of 11 Disneyland unions is calling on the resort to raise its base wage to $20 an hour after a survey of 5,000 workers found many were hard-pressed to pay for food and medical expenses and 11 percent said they experienced homelessness in the past two years. According to a 125-page report “Working for the Mouse,” to be unveiled at a town hall of union members at the Anaheim Sheraton Park Hotel on Wednesday, Feb. 28, federal census and economic data show the average hourly wage...