In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato tells us about the prisoner who saw the light. But what is more interesting, is to think about the type of experience he had. At first, he is blinded by the light. His eyesight is damaged, and as he readjusts his vision and moves forward in the new … Read more
‘Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do.’ If you go through the literature on productivity, time-management, or behavioral economics, you will notice a common presupposition: you have imperfections in your brain that will be harmful to your well-being. The reason you procrastinate is that your brain is a faulty machine that does … Read more
Bertrand Russell was part of a generation that was brought up on the saying: ‘Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do.’ In Praise of Idleness challenges this piece of common wisdom. Since he was a virtuous child, he believed what he was told, and acquired a conscience that made him industrious, even when … Read more
“The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting,” by Dr. Jason Fung and Jimmy Moore, offers a comprehensive and accessible guide to the practice of fasting for health benefits. The book draws on Dr. Fung’s clinical experience as a nephrologist, his thorough research into the science of fasting, and … Read more
Lesson 1: Deadwood Lesson 2: Order and Chaos Lesson 3: Don’t be Naive Lesson 4: Intelligence is not Necessarily Wisdom Lesson 5: You Don’t Lose Fear, You Become more Courageous Lesson 6: You Must be Willing to be a Fool to be a Master Lesson 7: Learn How to Negotiate with Yourself
After learning about Mimetic Theory, we encounter an older idea about the origin of conflict – Hegel’s First Man. I will not summarize either concept here at length, but I will briefly explain what Hegel meant by the First Man. Before the advent of civilization, primordial man, uncultured and untamed, had a basic need, which … Read more
He pondered deeply, like diving into a deep water he let himself sink down to the ground of the sensation, down to the place where the causes lie, because to identify the causes, so it seemed to him, is the very essence of thinking, and by this alone sensations turn into realizations and are not … Read more
Man tends to question everything, but this is a burden to him. The questions, instead of disappearing, multiply. Because no answer is acceptable (lacks the full truth); at the end of each attempt is a justification for a new attempt. The inquiry never stops. And as he questions more, he then questions his need to … Read more
When one considers how ready are the forces of young men for discharge, one does not wonder at seeing them decide so uncritically and with so little selection for this or that cause: that which attracts them is the sight of eagerness for a cause, as it were the sight of the burning match-not the … Read more
Thomas Hobbes, author of the notorious Leviathan, had a strange definition for “free will” He presumed that anything, whether animate or inanimate, is considered free if nothing stands in its way. If there are no obstacles, then there is freedom. If a rock is rolling down a hill without anything it in its path, then … Read more