If I could just avoid all the folly, maybe I could get an advantage without having to be really good at anything…And so this process I have gone through life identifying folly and trying to…
Leszek Kołakowski on The Source of Man’s Need for the Mythical
In his book The Presence of Myth, Leszek Kołakowski attempts to identify the source of the man’s need for myths. In enumerating the three forms in which the need for myth appears on the surface of our…
Robert M. Pirsig – The Metaphor of a Spiritual Mountain
In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values, a philosophical novel and a fictionalized autobiography, Robert M. Pirsig uses a journey through mountains as an elegant metaphor for one’s spiritual journey through…
Psychological Downsides of Democracy and Equality
Democracy has done a lot for humankind. It made people feel equal and equally important. It made them feel free. As I have just finished reading a great book by Alain de Botton – Status Anxiety,…
Richard Schweder’s Three Ethics That Help Understand Culture Wars
Many of the key battles in the American culture war are essentially about whether some aspect of life should be structured by the ethic of autonomy or by the ethic of divinity…
Nietzsche’s Attack on Socrates’ Daemon
One might say that Socrates was the first guy who fucked us up. Badly. And here is the reason. According to Socrates’ equation, “reason = virtue = happiness.” This is probably the single most powerful idea that even today shapes the ideals of a modern man, from our education to the rest of our lives.
The 5 Most Insightful Philosophy Books About Human Nature
The five books presented here are chosen based on one criteria: the depth and elaboration of thoughts oh human nature and human condition. They are not strictly philosophical; for example La Rochefoucauld’s Maxims might be…
10 Mental Exercises Michel de Montaigne Used To Live Appropriately
“If I had to live over again, I would live as I have lived.” – Michel de Montaigne Michel de Montaigne (1533 – 1592) is widely appreciated as one of the most important figures in the…
Four Irrational Behaviors Voltaire Warned Us About
François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, is the principal representative of the Age of Enlightenment. He fought passionately against dogmatism of any kind, advocated free speech, was censored, imprisoned and exiled multiple times. His 18th-century…