The reading collection
Psychology, geopolitics, philosophy—and everything in between.
373 readings · 85–96
Law 48: Assume Formlessness The Spartan Army* The final law in the book reminds us of the caveats of laws in general. There is no fixed law. There are guiding principles, but everything is susceptible to revision.
Narcissus spent hours staring at his reflection until he turned into a flower, or so the Greek myth goes. Today, we think of Narcissus as the person who is too interested in how they look, are entitled, admire…
Before Piaget, there was very little work done to understand child psychology. While there has been considerable progress since, there is a large debt of gratitude that psychology owes to him.
1. Nash Equilibrium The Bar Scene from ‘A Beautiful Mind’* Each person in a group makes the optimal decision for himself, based on what he thinks others will do. And nobody can improve their choice by changing it.
The Female Brain Summary The Female Brain* by Louann Brizendine is about how female brains differ from male brains. Studies around the world showed that women are more likely to be depressed than men are by a ratio…
While the modern deal does not include deriving meaning from a cosmic plan, it does allow you to derive meaning independently – and this is how humanism succeeds what came before it. For ages, prophets and…
Jacques Lacan’s Seminar IV, which was given in 1956-1957 and published in 1960 as “La relation d’objet” (“The Object Relationship”), is an in-depth examination of the concept of the object in psychoanalysis.
The Death-Ground Strategy The ancient commanders of armies, who well knew the powerful influence of necessity, and how it inspired the soldiers with the most desperate courage, neglected nothing to subject their men…
C.A Meier, the author of Personality – The Individuation Process*, was a Jungian psychiatrist – in this book, he writes about Jung’s work into personality types and the process of individuation, including thorough…
“A surrogate activity is an activity that is directed toward an artificial goal that the individual pursues for the sake of the “fulfillment” that he gets from pursuing the goal, not because he needs to attain the…
Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness The Eiffel Tower* Don’t do anything halfheartedly. Being doubtful and hesitant will inevitably sabotage your project. Be audacious, everyone admires the bold, and no one cares for…
Epilogue: Myth and Society Nietzsche* 1. The Shapeshifter Campbell concludes by commenting on the relevance of myths today, how myths are viewed and how you can make use of them in your own life.