Featured
Honeybees and Zen During Ecological Collapse
Honeybees don't only inform us of further ecological collapse but invite us into being more mindful: present and compassionate.
Global WEIRDing Threatens Cognitive Diversity
Human cognitive diversity joins a number of other forms of diversity that are disappearing. Diversity of mammals and plants, of languages and cuisines. But the loss of cognitive diversity raises issues all its own.
Mary Poppins as the Bodhisattva Ideal
P.L. Travers, who hung out with British mystics and studied alongside a Zen Buddhist master, would have approved of the Mary Poppins sequel.
‘Follow Your Passion’ Is Actually Good Advice (Sort Of)
Here are five recent research findings worth considering when weighing the wisdom of "follow your passion" or pursuing a calling in life.
Anxiety Due to Absence of Exposure to Real Danger
To better understand how anxiety works in us, we have to see fear in the context where it evolved—with hunter-gatherers thousands of years ago.
Engaging in Civil Arguments Is Effective Against Extremism
Philosophers are exemplars in disagreeing vehemently but civilly with others. Like them, using these 4 principles can help us have arguments that are effective against extremism.
How ‘Silent Night’ Went from Humble Hymn to Holiday Staple
Translated into over 300 languages, it originates in a small Austrian village, having been written for a poverty-stricken and traumatized congregation.
Christmas Truce: Raising Our White Flags with ‘Joyeux Noël’
The Christmas Truce of 1914 was the final happy memory some soldiers would have. Today, in our polarized culture, 'Joyeux Noël' reminds us to soften our social and political barriers.
Stereotypes Are Like Sediment
It's said that our actions are based on immediate intuitions, informed by accumulated stereotypes. Are we merely puppets of inherited ideologies?
Ecstatic Experience: How the West Can Find Itself by Losing Control
In the West, we resist ecstatic experience, fearful of losing control—this hyper-rationalistic mindset excludes us from crucial paths to insight and connection. But there is a dark side to ecstasy.
A Tough President and An Unsettled Nation
While the most violent mood in recent history settles over the nation, can we blame it on Donald Trump and his aspirations to be "tough?"
Ishiguro Explores ‘Our Illusory Sense of Connection with the World’
Ishiguro has been praised for his unapologetic investigation of loss and hope, and the "inevitable sadness" inherent in his novels.
Kierkegaard, Knausgaard, and the ‘Kingdom of God’
Karl Ove Knausgaard often uses religious language in his fiction—but as religion recedes, does he think literature can create ecstatic experience?
What is the Sublime? (According to Kant and Schopenhauer)
For Kant and Schopenhauer, scientific understanding deepens our experience with the Sublime, elevating our spiritual strength.
Jung and Freud Feud: Is it Sex or the Collective Unconscious?
Once resembling the relationship between a devoted father and an admiring son, Freud and Jung split over the question of culture's origins.
Psychological Studies Overlook 85 Percent of People on Earth
We can't make claims about human nature when studies only represent a narrow slice of humanity: mostly college students, middle-class respondents living near universities, and highly educated residents of wealthy, industrialized and democratic nations.
You’re Unhappy Because You Focus on What You Can’t Control
If you succeed in shifting your goals internally, you'll be happier, because what other people do is largely beyond your control.
How CBT Strengthens Political Life and Untruths Which Weaken It
Many in the US are experiencing emotional unwellness, while our foundational institutions are rattling. CBT can help with both.
Virtual Reality is Not an Empathy Machine
Virtual reality can help us better understand the experiences of others but we should remain skeptical whether it can create true empathy.
Hallucinations Shouldn’t Be Stigmatized, Can Lead to Growth
Consider how a one's life would be changed by starting to hear or see things others can’t—but what if hallucinations could offer something good?
Competition is Bad for Families but Good for Societies
Local competition—including that among siblings or neighbors—stymies cooperation and social capital, whereas global competition fosters both.
Loss of Indigenous Languages Limits Our Insights from Nature
Language loss can be considered as extreme as the extinction of a plant or an animal—regarding indigenous languages in particular.
News-fatigued? Read Stoic Philosophy and Poetry Instead
Reading the news feels awful but ignoring it doesn’t feel right either. A stoic mindset shields us from catastrophy—and inspires action.
Saudade: Happy Melancholy, Nostalgia for What Is Absent
Portuguese speakers commonly boast that "saudade" is untranslatable. Does that mean certain emotion experiences can be unique to a particular culture?
An Experience is ‘Interesting’ But the World is Not
Examining the ways in which we use the word 'interesting' unlocks a key understanding about human existence and how we experience the world.
Why Losing a Dog Can Be Harder Than Losing a Loved One
The dog is the only animal that has evolved specifically to be our companion—and has a unique ability to meet our needs.
Religion is About Emotion Regulation and Shared Experience
Religion is a social glue that unifies individuals into cooperative social groups and helps us regulate our emotions—even if it can't explain nature.
Montessori Schools Let Kids Choose Their Own Work
Montessori schools maintain that children who freely chose their activities build their self-discipline and ability to concentrate.
‘Awakening the Soul’: One Man’s Challenge to the Post-truth World
A new book protests the postmodernist refutations of shared truth and grand narratives—we struggle because we lack story and soul.
Free-range Parenting Has Protection in Utah, Many Battles Ahead
Free-range parenting gains momentum in Utah, but families nation-wide still face threats to their autonomy from intrusive governments.