A Conversation with Bertrand Russell in 1952
“The rational man will not be too sure he’s right” This Bertrand Russell interview took place in 1955.
The reading collection
Psychology, geopolitics, philosophy—and everything in between.
373 readings · 157–168
“The rational man will not be too sure he’s right” This Bertrand Russell interview took place in 1955.
In one of his lectures, Jordan Peterson was asked a question about whether morality was merely a matter of who was more powerful.
Debates can be illuminating, or they can be a waste of time. When is a debate illuminating? When there is a mutual attempt to explore the truth. The form that professional debates take, whether presidential or…
Peterson recalls an encounter with a client who claimed to be raped five times. She was confused and traumatized, but something was deeply wrong with the way she operated in the world.
The End of Homo Sapiens Across time, wars have become responsible for less deaths. Sugar has become more dangerous than gunpowder.
The decades after World War 2 were critical in shaping the Middle East’s political structures. After the war began, demand for oil increased – the Middle East became more valuable, as a supplier of oil, and as a…
Greene reminds us that before industrial society, humans derived a survivalist advantage in observing and in thinking to themselves. A human hunter could afford to observe the patterns of behavior of other animals,…
Law 29: Plan all the Way to the End Walter Benjamin* “Look to the end, no matter what it is you are considering. Often enough, God gives a man a glimpse of happiness, and then utterly ruins him.”– The Histories,…
What people failed to take from you through direct battle, they will try to take from you under the guise of morality and fairness. Do not be taken in, negotiation is about moving for power, always put yourself in a…
Law 26: Keep Your Hands Clean Folly consists not in committing Folly, but in being incapable of concealing it. All men make mistakes, but the wise conceal the blunders they have made, while fools make them public.…
Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions Bismark* Greene recalls a story that took place in France in the seventeenth century, that was a violation of this law. There was a Marquee who wanted to seduce a Countess, but being…
Territory As human beings, we have a lot in common with other species. Peterson turns our attention to the lobster, which can be interpreted as either humorous or deadly serious, depending on where you stand.