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History

War and Peace is rooted in Tolstoy’s longing for the infinite and universal. Yet, it reveals our need to focus on the concrete and mundane.
("The Battle of Austerlitz" by François Gérard, 1810)
Culture Essays 

History Isn’t Made by Great Men

August 12, 2021December 27, 2021 14 min read Henriikka Hannula Essential Reading, History, Literature

War and Peace is rooted in Tolstoy’s longing for the infinite and universal. Yet, it reveals our need to focus on the concrete and mundane.

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Ron Chernow Ulysses S Grant
Essays Society 

A Progressive’s Take on Ron Chernow’s ‘Grant’

July 24, 2019April 30, 2021 15 min read Joshua R. H. Parsons Character, History, Progress

Individuals don’t make history but there are the “best of us” people, like Grant, who withstand the crushing pressures of their times.

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Precariousness of Socities without Moralizing Gods Erraticus Image by Jonathan Pielmayer
(Jonathan Pielmayer)
Ideas Religion 

The Precariousness of Societies Without Moralizing Gods

March 22, 2019March 27, 2021 5 min read Jeffrey Howard History, Politics

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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Freud and Jung Feud Is It Sex or the Collective Unconscious Erraticus Image
(Wikimedia Commons)
Culture Ideas 

Jung and Freud Feud: Is it Sex or the Collective Unconscious?

November 27, 2018May 19, 2021 7 min read Sam Dresser Archetypes, History

Once resembling the relationship between a devoted father and an admiring son, Freud and Jung split over the question of culture’s origins.

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A Divided World Needs to Make God a Useful Idea, Again Image by Eberhard Grossgasteiger
(Eberhard Grossgasteiger)
Essays Religion 

A Divided World Needs to Make God a Useful Idea, Again

December 1, 2017June 11, 2021 13 min read Nicole Carloni Christianity, Essential Reading, History, Judaism, Relationships

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.

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How the Toothbrush Mirrors Societal Progress: An Oral History
(Wikimedia Commons)
Essays Science & Tech 

How the Toothbrush Mirrors Societal Progress: An Oral History

May 31, 2017June 3, 2020 8 min read Joshua R. H. Parsons History, Progress

Just as simple technologies have been abandoned for more beneficial advancements, so should we jettison institutions, laws, philosophies, and cultures which no longer incubate human flourishing.

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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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