Category Archives: Philosophy

50 very short rules for a good life from the stoics

by Ryan Holiday in Forge What is the job of a philosopher?“When the standards have been set,” Epictetus said, “the work ofphilosophy is just this, to examine and uphold the standards, but the workof a truly good person is in … Continue reading

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50 life altering rules from the Stoics

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Eudaimonia and Aristotle on Virtue Theory

Here’s a fun quick course on Virtue Theory for the philosophers among us

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Five Great Things Biden Has Already Done

by David Brooks in the NYT Many of our best presidents have been underestimated. Truman was seen as the tool of a corrupt political machine. Eisenhower was supposedly a bumbling middlebrow. Grant was thought a taciturn simpleton. Even F.D.R. was … Continue reading

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Life or shadow?

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Flowers and philosophy

Thanks to Rosemary W.

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What Makes Us All Radically Equal

by David Brooks in the NYT Around New Year’s 2017, a community organizer named Chris Lambert leased a soon-to-be-empty school building for $1 in one of Detroit’s poorer African-American neighborhoods. The plan was to pour $5 million into remodeling the … Continue reading

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Childrens’s answers to the great questions

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The moral philosophy of David Brooks

David Brooks is quite honest in his latest book. He became a workaholic and his marriage fell apart six years ago. His Quest for a Moral Life is a message to us all about personal responsibility for our actions, and … Continue reading

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Hope springs eternal

Below is from Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man. Though Pope isn’t talking about the folly of Mariner’s Mania, he does remind us to “drop into thyself and be a fool.” Know then thyself, presume not God to scanThe proper … Continue reading

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What would Lincoln do?

By David BlankenhornSpecial to The Los Angeles Times Abraham Lincoln, who was born 210 years ago this month, was president during an era even more rancorous and polarized than our own. Yet he managed to navigate it — not in a … Continue reading

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Reach out, listen, be patient. Good arguments can stop extremism

From Aeon: “Many of my best friends think that some of my deeply held beliefs about important issues are obviously false or even nonsense. Sometimes, they tell me so to my face. How can we still be friends? Part of … Continue reading

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To be happier, focus on what’s within your control

Ed Note: One time I flew into to JFK from my overseas post and went to the airline counter to check on my transfer flight to Austin. She kind of cringed and said, “I’m sorry sir there’s been a mistake, … Continue reading

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The nomadic life of London piano tuner who values freedom over possessions

Ed note: Have you ever in your life wanted to simplify like this? Or after reading Walden in college decided to follow his ways, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” Watch the … Continue reading

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Who is the “Unmoved Mover”

Ed Note: After taking courses in philosophy and religion in college, I found Aristotle and his logic appealingly difficult. Of course, none of us can get our heads around infinite space and time; a beginning to everything; or where does … Continue reading

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The philosophy of coffee

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Can the Stoics help us rise above anger?

Massimo Pigliucci is professor of philosophy at City College and at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His latest book is How to Be a Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living (2017). He lives in New York. In … Continue reading

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Human evolution lectures now on streaming video

https://plus.google.com/collection/0IJzmB All five lectures are collected at that URL.

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Humility and Wisdom

“Wisdom is perceiving that the things in which you are wise are scarcely anything compared with the things in which you are not.” Emanuel Swedenborg 1688-1772

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