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+16 +1
Why philosophers could be the ones to transform your 2020
Long-dead thinkers from Socrates to Nietzsche are the latest hot property when it comes to self-help books. But can they really make effective gurus, asks Neil Armstrong.
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+4 +1
Emotional Intelligence and Stoicism
We do love us a bit of Stoic guidance when we’re losing our cool. Whether we’re raging, hurt, jealous or anxious, the ancient philosophy of Stoicism teaches us to stand back, breathe and survey the emotional landscape. Once we’ve engaged our rational mind, we can then act without melting down or screaming blue murder.
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The attraction of apocalypse
Our fascination with disaster narratives springs from our desire to see moral conundrums played out, writes Stephen De Wijze. Living through an actual disaster, like the Covid-19 pandemic, is not nearly as exciting.
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“What is the role of philosophy during a global crisis?” with guest Susan Neiman – Why?
We are all preoccupied with the Covid-19 global pandemic and justly so. Everyone in the world has lots of little decisions to make, and many are facing life and death situations. What is the use of philosophy in all of this? Is it helpful? Is it a distraction? Can philosophy solve problems or even make a better world?
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Coronavirus: How can philosophy help us in this time of crisis?
There is a philosophical saying for every occasion, and right now a bit of Stoicism seems apt. “Cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will,” said Seneca in an aphorism with echoes of the serenity prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
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+21 +3
What I Learned About Reality in VR
Virtual reality tore me out of my filter bubble. I met people I probably would never have met in material reality. I felt close to people, I hung out with them in a social VR room for weeks — and only on my long journey to Kuwait, Israel, and the US, where I finally visited them in their material lives, did I realize how far away these people are “in reality.” But this distance did not hinder us from having real relationships.
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+4 +1
BULLSHIT!
Harry Frankfurt is an American philosopher and author of the New York Times Best Seller "On Bullshit". Although first conceived as an essay over 30 years ago, his theory on bullshit is more relevant than ever before. BULLSHIT! aims to further our understanding of what bullshit is, why there's so much of it, and how it can be a greater enemy to the truth than lies.
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Hannah Arendt On Standing Up to the Banality of Evil
Where does evil come from? Are evil acts always committed by evil people? Whose responsibility is it to identify and stamp out evil? These questions concerned 20th-century German philosopher Hannah Arendt throughout her life and work, and in her final (and unfinished) 1977 book The Life of the Mind, she seems to offer a conclusion, writing...
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+14 +2
Higher trust in intuition helps account for why women are more likely to believe in magical phenomena
A new study provides evidence that women’s reliance on intuition and “gut” feelings helps to explain why they tend to report more magical beliefs than men do. The research has been published in the Journal of Research in Personality.
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+17 +3
“Crime and Punishment” and the need to be Great
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was one of the most prominent Russian novelists of all time. His novels are often surrounded by a gloomy, violent aura and deep, complex characters. Dostoevsky never fails to make the reader ponder and introduce philosophical themes in a subtle, but convincing way. His novel “Notes from the underground” is one of the most distinguished existential fictions in the world.
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+18 +3
Art for trying times: how a philosopher found solace playing Red Dead Redemption 2
Just before the first COVID-19 lockdown started in Melbourne, I ran out and bought an Xbox – “for the kids,” you understand. I’d never had a games console, and I am certainly not the target demographic for Rockstar Games’ work: massive open-world behemoths like the infamous Grand Theft Auto series and 2010’s Red Dead Redemption. So while I knew of the hype around the prequel Red Dead Redemption 2, I was utterly unprepared for the emotional impact it would have on me – and what curious solace I’d find in its evocation of time and loss.
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+2 +1
Can you be good without God? The answer may depend on how rich you are, a new survey finds
Educated people who live in rich countries are far less likely to say belief in God is necessary for good morals, according to a massive new survey of 38,000 people in 34 countries. The survey, released Monday by the Pew Research Center, revealed a gaping "God gap" between relatively rich and poor countries.
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+16 +1
Immortality and its Consequences.
Biotech and nanotech have a great potential for disruption to every human-made system we have today, including death. Below is a toy example of how immortality would completely change the structure of society, an example so simple it may seem silly, but which illuminates the principles clearly.
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+15 +5
Can a college course in moral philosophy convince people to eat less meat?
One study found that sitting in a discussion section on the ethics of meat led students to lower their meat consumption.
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+15 +5
Consciousness is neither a spooky mystery nor an illusory belief
These days it is highly fashionable to label consciousness an ‘illusion’. This in turn fosters the impression, especially among the general public, that the way we normally think of our mental life has been shown by science to be drastically mistaken. While this is true in a very specific and technical sense, consciousness remains arguably the most distinctive evolved feature of humanity, enabling us not only to experience the world, like other animal species do, but to deliberately reflect on our experiences and to change the course of our lives accordingly.
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+9 +1
Does Democracy Demand the Tolerance of the Intolerant? Karl Popper’s Paradox
In the past few years, when far-right nationalists are banned from social media, violent extremists face boycotts, or institutions refuse to give a platform to racists, a faux-outraged moan has gone up: “So much for the tolerant left!” “So much for liberal tolerance!” The complaint became so hackneyed it turned into an already-hackneyed meme.
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+4 +1
Is Maths Real? That's Actually a Much Smarter Question Than You Might Think
While filming herself getting ready for work recently, TikTok user @gracie.ham reached deep into the ancient foundations of mathematics and found an absolute gem of a question: "How could someone come up with a concept like algebra?"
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Michael Sandel: 'The populist backlash has been a revolt against the tyranny of merit'
Michael Sandel was 18 years old when he received his first significant lesson in the art of politics. The future philosopher was president of the student body at Palisades high school, California, at a time when Ronald Reagan, then governor of the state, lived in the same town. Never short of confidence, in 1971 Sandel challenged him to a debate in front of 2,400 left-leaning teenagers.
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Why We All Need Philosophy | Mark Manson
Philosophy can help us live more meaningful lives and build better societies. We just need a framework of philosophy that fits our modern-day problems.
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Religion is about emotion regulation, and it’s very good at it – Stephen T Asma
Religion does not help us to explain nature. It did what it could in pre-scientific times, but that job was properly unseated by science. Most religious laypeople and even clergy agree: Pope John Paul II declared in 1996 that evolution is a fact and Catholics should get over it. No doubt some extreme anti-scientific thinking lives on in such places as Ken Ham’s Creation Museum in Kentucky, but it has become a fringe position. Most mainstream religious people accept a version of Galileo’s division of labour: ‘The intention of the Holy Ghost is to teach us how one goes to heaven, not how heaven goes.’
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