The Power of One Idea
William James offers a way to evaluate the fruitfulness of ideas by tethering them to the common ground of lived experience.
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Author: Jeffrey Howard
‘The School of Life’ Preaches Pessimism over Romanticism
‘The School of Life’ is on a crusade to avail us of our emotional ignorance. Philosopher Alain De Botton seeks to remedy the shortcomings of contemporary education systems and the institutions that have failed to instruct us in how to approach the big questions in life.
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‘God Is a Question’: An Atheist’s Invitation to Intellectual Humility
William Irwin seeks to quell bad faith arguments and encourage greater acceptance of the uncertainty so endemic to life’s big questions.
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The Precariousness of Societies Without Moralizing Gods
The answer to whether complex civilizations or moralizing gods came first has significant ramifications for how we address social ills today.
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A Revolution Built on Eye Contact
Cutting through the small talk and reviving a familiar ethos, Authentic Relating aims to supercharge the way we experience each other.
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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.
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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?
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How CBT Strengthens Political Life and Untruths That Weaken It
Many in the US are experiencing emotional unwellness, while our foundational institutions are rattling. CBT can help with both.
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‘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.
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Depression Isn’t Caused by a Chemical Imbalance
The prevailing theory for depression focuses on an alleged chemical imbalance in the brain—meta-researchers are now dispelling this narrative.
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‘The History of White People’ and Their Mixed Legacies
Nell Irvin Painter’s book identifies some of the roots of the inequality we see today, which are based on the antiquated “science” of race theory. We can use the social construct of race to address social injustices, but what do we do with the mixed legacies of race theorists?
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Agape Restaurants Could Revive Toleration and Multiculturalism
Debates surrounding tribalism and bigotry abound, many focused on biased media or public policy. Agape Restaurants conceptualize food as a cultural force for realizing toleration and nurturing community—all while dining with strangers.
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