Becoming Wise: An Inquiry Into the Art of Living
“I am a person who listens for a living. I listen for wisdom, and beauty, and for voices not shouting to be heard.” *** Krista Tippett, the host of the compelling podcast On Being, is an incredible …
Religion
The False Allure of a “Natural State” of Man
The heated debate about Sapiens’ “natural way of life” is missing the point. Ever since the Cognitive Revolution, there hasn’t been a natural way of life for Sapiens. — Yuval …
When Breath Becomes Air: What Makes Life Worth Living in the Face of Death?
“When you come to one of the many moments in life where you must give an account of yourself, provide a ledger of what you have been, and done, and meant to the world, do not, I pray, discount …
The Boundaries Between Science and Religion: Alan Lightman on Different Kinds of Knowledge
“The physical universe is subject to rational analysis and the methods of science. The spiritual universe is not. All of us have had experiences that are not subject to rational analysis. …
Religion and History: Will Durant on the Role of Religion and Morality
“Even the skeptical historian develops a humble respect for religion, since he sees it functioning, and seemingly indispensable, in every land and age.” *** Will and Ariel Durant have …
The Accidental Universe
* “Be not deceived,” Epictetus writes in The Discourses, “every animal is attached to nothing so much as to its own interest.” Few things are more in our nature than our …
The Ghost of Christmas Past: A Look At the History of Christmas
Christmas, as a festival, has changed a lot throughout history, with many of its core modern traditions being more recent than we think or of surprising origin. Historically, Christmas was often a …
How to be 10% Happier
Think you had a bad day? Dan Harris had a panic attack on live TV in front of millions of people. Something had to change. He knew it. Almost immediately after the panic attack on the air he was …
The Book of Trees: Visualizing Branches of Knowledge
“There certainly have been many new things in the world of visualization; but unless you know its history, everything might seem novel.” — Michael Friendly *** It’s tempting to consider information …
What Is Meditation?
I’ve been putting this off for years. Now is a perfect time. Meditation offers a path toward increased happiness, creativity and mindfulness. Steve Jobs was a lifelong practitioner, reading …
The evolutionary function of religion
Excerpts from Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal on the evolutionary function of religion. In his trailblazing book Darwin’s Cathedral, the biologist David Sloan Wilson proposes that …
The Great Ideas of the Social Sciences
What are the most important ideas ever put forward in social science? I’m not asking what are the best ideas, so the truth of them is only obliquely relevant: a very important idea may be largely …
Richard Dawkins on Pascal’s Wager
Richard Dawkins’s wide-ranging interview with Playboy Magazine. PLAYBOY: So you aren’t taking Pascal up on his wager. He was the 17th century philosopher who argued it’s a smarter bet to believe …