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Culture

The Locking Spine People Crab Erik Mclean Erraticus
(Erik Mclean)
Culture Essays 

The Locking Spine

March 10, 2020May 19, 2021 14 min read Donovan Irven Appalachia, Community, Essential Reading, Family

Eating crab is a fitting tradition for an Appalachian community dealing with the intergenerational trauma connected to the opioid crisis.

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Their Home Not Mine Erraticus Iona McHaney
(Paula May)
Culture Essays 

On Their Home, Not Mine

December 14, 2019May 19, 2021 13 min read Iona McHaney Community, Essential Reading, Nostalgia, Place

A “third culture kid,” now an adult, reflects on the unrelenting yearning she has for home and the struggle we face to live in the present.

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The Dude Abides Pragmatism Nihilism Deontology 3
(Universal Pictures)
Culture Essays 

The Dude Abides: Pragmatism as an Alternative to Deontology and Nihilism

November 14, 2019April 22, 2021 16 min read Matthew Downhour Deontology, Essential Reading, Film, Friedrich Nietzsche, Judaism, Nihilism, Pragmatism

Stuck in the conflict between two worldviews, the Dude offers a pragmatic third way forward for the postmodern world.

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Become this delicate earth gardening Erraticus
(Vardan Harutyunyan)
Culture Ideas 

Become This Delicate Skin of the Earth

July 28, 2019June 1, 2020 4 min read Jeanell Innerarity Death, Environmentalism, Gardening

When we each return to the earth, we can be secure in knowing that we are part of the grand planetary story, not separate from it.

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Why Dungeons and Dragons Is a Popular Form of Communal Therapy Erraticus Image by Clint Bustrillos
(Cliff Bustrillos)
Culture Essays 

Why D&D Is a Popular Form of Communal Therapy

July 10, 2019May 19, 2021 22 min read Malek Samman and Christopher Porzenheim Community, Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Well-Being

Dungeons and Dragons, the popular tabletop role-playing game, challenges players to improve their moral character, emotional intelligence, and social skills.

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Mary Poppins as the Bodhisattva Ideal Erraticus Image Walt Disney Studios
(Walt Disney Studios)
Culture Ideas 

Mary Poppins as the Bodhisattva Ideal

January 11, 2019August 28, 2020 7 min read David Paul Kirkpatrick Ancient Wisdom, Buddhism, Film

P.L. Travers, who hung out with British mystics and studied alongside a Zen Buddhist master, would have approved of the Mary Poppins sequel.

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A Pragmatic Approach to Ideas

An online publication focused on human flourishing, taking a pragmatic approach to ideas. We care about ideas that help us to live well together, focusing on their practical consequences.

 

“Pragmatism, on the other hand, asks its usual question. ‘Grant an idea or belief to be true,’ it says, ‘what concrete difference will its being true make in anyone’s actual life? How will the truth be realized? What experiences will be different from those which would obtain if the belief were false? What, in short, is the truth’s cash-value in experiential terms?'” — William James

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