There was a time when wars made sense to some politicians – it was when wars were profitable and easy. In 1914, the British controlled the Nile Valley and the Suez Canal for decades without much push back. The U.S won the war against Mexico, gained a landmass equivalent to Western Europe, for the price … Read more
Since 11 September 2001, every year terrorists have killed about fifty people in the European Union, about ten people in the USA, about seven people in China, and up to 25,000 people globally (mostly in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria).1 In contrast, each year traffic accidents kill about 80,000 Europeans, 40,000 Americans, 270,000 Chinese, … Read more
“The rational man will not be too sure he’s right” This Bertrand Russell interview took place in 1955. There were many notable things about the conversation, like how different the style of interrogation used to be, but what was hard to miss was how the world has changed since the time of this interview – … Read more
The price we pay for the advancement of civilization is the heightening sense of guilt that we experience. In Civilization and its Discontents, Freud explains why we feel guilt, where it came from, and what consequences it has had on the individual. Religion Freud starts his inquiry by alluding to a shared reality among religious … Read more
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a novel about what unfolds when morality submits to rationality. Raskolnikov was an ambitious and intelligent student who wanted to become a professor and has already published his first article at the age of 23, but his depraved financial condition has led him to depression. To make things … Read more
The premise of Games People Play by Eric Berne is that human beings as children are imbued with certain rituals, needs, desires, and thoughts by their parents and by their society. As they become adults, they do not fully transition from child to adult. Their relationships with others, characterized by the scripts they are willing … Read more
Free Will by Sam Harris is a book devoted to the philosophical debate about what agency is. His argument is that free will is nothing more than illusion. The reason why this is important is that if he is correct, we would need to think of reality and people very differently. If the scientific community … Read more
The Technological Society was written in 1954 by French philosopher Jacques Ellul. The book traces humanity’s historical discovery of technology, and how technique has come to dominate every aspect of our lives. Ellul writes in an academic style that is not always very accessible, but often presents his arguments in a wonderfully lucid way. Ellul’s … Read more
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene is a book about pragmatism. Greene doesn’t attempt to indoctrinate his readers into believing a fixed philosophy, in fact, he does the opposite. At the end of each chapter, he includes a “reversal” section where he attempts to criticize the validity of his laws. Sometimes, there are … Read more
Law 30: Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless To become a master at anything, you need to invest considerable time and effort. But don’t tell others about your tricks, and how hard you had to toil – create an air of nonchalance and effortlessness. Be careful of teaching others too many of your secrets for they … Read more