The reading collection
Psychology, geopolitics, philosophy—and everything in between.
373 readings · 61–72
Law 46: Never Appear too Perfect The Sistine Chapel* It is dangerous to appear better than others, it is especially dangerous to appear to have no faults. Envy creates secret enemies; it is wise to display defects…
The problem of self-discipline concerns each person, no matter what their beliefs or background. There is no need to expand on why self-discipline is important. Naturally, many approaches to practicing it have…
Law 33: Discover Each Man’s Thumbscrew Everyone has a weakness. Usually, it is an insecurity, an irrational need, or an emotion. It can even be a secret pleasure. When it has been discovered, it can be used as an…
The Collective Unconscious Your mind is made up of your conscious self and the unconscious. Your unconscious influences your thoughts and behavior without your conscious consent, it is the hand behind the curtain.
Religion and psychoanalysis are related. Kierkegaard can be considered a psychologist, even though he was a theologian and a philosopher. The foundation of Kierkegaard’s philosophy is the Fall in the story of Adam…
Jonah* If heroism requires courage, why are so few people truly courageous? Even Carlyle, who terrified people, depended on his father for validation.
“The sadist doesn’t create a masochist, he finds him ready made.”–Ernest Becker,The Denial of Death Masochism in Modern Man explores the psychological roots of masochism from an interesting perspecitve.
Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, provides the backdrop for the life of the famous Batman villain. The movie touches on key psychological themes that relate to Jung, Freud, Nietzsche, and Dostoevsky.
Pinochet Kissinger Reunion Don’t trust friends, they are likely to betray you because they are predisposed to envy. Hire a former enemy, and he will be more loyal than a friend – he has more to prove. In the 9th…
Chapter 7: Nationalism Global problems need global answers Despite sharing a single civilization, some people resort to their nationalistic identities, isolating themselves from the rest of the world.
There are many ways of categorizing people according to their personalities, but a simple and effective one is into doers vs thinkers. Here, I define the thinker as someone who’s main profession is to think about…
In The Laws of Human Nature*, we learn about human psychology. Each chapter is backed up by theories from prominent psychologists.