The French philosopher Simone Weil (1909-1943) only lived to the age of 34. But in spite of her brief life she created a body of work that has garnered some impressive compliments. Albert Camus described her as “the only great spirit of our time.” T.S. Eliot wrote that she was “a woman of genius, of
READ MORE
Even if you’re not religious, you should know your religious mythology. As many of the great thinkers of the past recognized, the mythological stories offered (or expressed) important archetypes for understanding our present world. For instance, in The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche interprets human life as a struggle between the Apollonian (rational) and Dionysian (irrational)
READ MORE
“Executive function” training is apparently the latest “it” thing to improve student performance, and parents are shelling out the big bucks for it. What is it? According to NPR, executive function tutors work with students to improve organization and judgment skills such as “attention and focus, working memory, impulse control and self-evaluation.” In the NPR
READ MORE
As cool as drones are, we still have nothing on the power of nature. Yes, we can program the machines, but now the police in the Netherlands are training eagles to take them out. There’s some delicious irony here: Tolkien would be proud. (Image Credit: SeattleTimes.com) Save this article to favorites
READ MORE
Among the relatively few college students exposed to it, the concept of “civil society” often puts them to sleep. It’s not exciting for people to hear that “civil society” refers to all those “mediating institutions” (another snoozer) between government and the individual, such as family, church, voluntary associations, and charitable organizations. American political debates today
READ MORE
Is humanity improving each and every day? Do we today know more than our ancestors? Are we superior to our fellow human beings in the past? If you answer “yes” to one or all of these questions, then you probably subscribe to what is known as the “idea of progress”—the notion that human history follows
READ MORE
Most Read from past 24 hours
Most Read from past 7 days
Most Read from past 30 days
Most Read of All Time
Most Read of All Time
