Category: Society & Culture
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.
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.
‘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.
Infantilization of Western Culture: Adults No Longer Adult
College students aren't the only ones embracing infantilization, but what happens when an entire society succumbs to childlike behavior?
Is ‘Know Thyself’ The Greatest Delphic Maxim We Know?
We're familiar with 'know thyself' as one of the highest commands of philosophy, but we'd be remiss if we ignored the other Delphic maxims.
Shared Reality and Truth Are Losing Ground to Tribalism
People turn to tribalism for a sense of certainty, as trust in institutions and commitment to truth erode. Instead, we need to restore a shared reality which builds common ground, regardless of identity group.
Cult, New Religious Movement, or Minority Religion?
We need to change the language we use when talking about religion, starting with the word "cult."
Truth Is Not Absolute, But That Which Works
A common view of truth aims for that which corresponds with reality. Left with nothing but our own interpretations of the world, Pragmatists, like William James and Charles Peirce, argue that the best we can do is to hold to that which works.
Meaning of Life No Longer Matters to Philosophers
Professional philosophers rarely ask 'What is the meaning of life?' and when they do, they often dismiss it as nonsense.
‘History of White People’ and Dealing with Race Theorists
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?
LGBTQ…P? Polygamy in the Era of Marriage Equality
Same-sex marriage was legalized in 2015. Ever-individualized notions of love, sexuality, and gender identity broaden our definition of family—but will we make room for polygamy? Should we?
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.
Urban Youth Use Myths and Drums to Become Men
Drawing power from mythological stories and self-disclosure, this award-winning mentoring program transforms teens into community leaders.
Funerals Are Vital Spaces for Emotional Learning
We dishonor a person's memory and do ourselves a disservice when we don't also acknowledge the dead person’s flaws, faults, or missteps—in other words, embrace their whole humanity. Whether we want it or not, funerals are spaces for emotional learning, not just grieving or reinforcing cultural norms.
As Atheists and Believers, We Need Deeper Reverence for Mystery
Throughout most contemporary discourse about God and practiced religion, God is conceptualized as a literal being, leading believers to harm, vilify, and limit the potential of other people. While atheists ridicule the religious for believing in such a temperamental God, they have also limited their own potentials.
Unconditional Cash Transfers Can Fix Foreign Aid
Foreign aid in the form of conditional cash transfers between governments tends to be abused by corrupt regimes, and rarely makes it into the hands of those in need. UCTs are a way to bypass that, and reinforce personal freedom.
A Divided World Needs to Make God a Useful Idea, Again
In his newest book, God: A Human History, Reza Aslan seeks to provide an explanation for this rise of what he refers to as “the humanized God.” He proposes a more pragmatic idea of god, instead.
Building a Faith Community Without Belief in God
Tranquil chaos surrounded me, but I fervently believed that the humanities could offer answers to the big questions. Could a commonwealth of non-believers offer the same benefits of a faith community?
Why Do We Think The Working Class is Less Intelligent?
Traditional methods of measuring IQ suggest that a correlation exists between intelligence and social class. This outdated view of intelligence, among other social and environmental factors, perpetuates a stigma and enlarges a widening intelligence gap.
The 3 Faces of Political Incorrectness
There are three distinct types of anti-PC rebels. Two of them serve a valuable social function. The third is a menace and should be treated as such.
How Sports Bridge Our Cultural Divisions
The collective joys and sorrows of sports offer a healthy outlet for our tribal natures, and give us a safer space in which we can bridge gaps pertaining to more divisive societal arenas.
Elvish Has Been Spoken for Centuries In This Small Swedish Community
Experts estimate that one language goes extinct every 14 days. When a language dies, we lose history, culture, and a unique way of viewing the world.
How to Keep Jews Jewish by Being More Like the Amish
A Jewish version of Rumspringa offers a proactive and holistic approach for developing religious identity in youth, while respecting individual autonomy.
Ayn Rand in the Age of Anti-Intellectualism
Regardless how one may feel about Ayn Rand, her “philosophy,” or her generally unpleasant demeanor, she does comprehend at least one underpinning truth of our species.