The Pragmatic Truth of Existentialism
With culture wars focusing more on the nature of truth, the time is ripe to consider the connection between pragmatism and existentialism.
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Philosophy
Alone in One of Nature’s Threshold Places
The most fortifying experiences in nature are often found in lonely, transitional zones. But what is the reality of these threshold places?
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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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While Art Unites, Beauty Transcends
The failure to distinguish between art and beauty has caused much confusion. Art and beauty have two different but overlapping trajectories–one toward union and the other toward transcendent reality.
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Kierkegaard: The Responsible Philosopher?
Kierkegaard’s ambition is for the self to become itself—even if such a mode of existence will question the moral norms and values of society.
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Haste Makes Waste
Haste becomes waste is intimately tied to the fact that many people have forgotten to inhabit their body, too eager to get somewhere else.
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René Girard’s Map to Meaning: We’re All Victim(izer)s
As we try to align ourselves closely with the true victims, René Girard shows how the ancient scapegoat ruse leads us to meaningful compassion.
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Michel Serres, A Poetic Philosopher
Michel Serres was a life-affirming philosopher whose emphatic style humanized science, encouraged empathy, and accepted our chaotic origins.
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Play Is the Metaphysics of Becoming
Play is a matter of life and death, and it differs from games in a fundamental way—but it is also a metaphysical activity.
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How Medieval Monks Would’ve Managed Digital Distractions
Medieval monks didn’t have smartphones but they had plenty of distractions. Here are a few ways in which they strengthened their focus.
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Wanderlust Is a Vice, Not a Virtue
Critiques of wanderlust by Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Stoics have far-reaching consequences for our ability to lead meaningful lives.
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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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