The idea of primitive communism is as seductive as it is wrong
Marx’s idea that societies were naturally egalitarian and communal before farming is widely influential and quite wrong
«owned bows, arrows, axes and cooking implements. Women owned the fruit they collected. Even meat became private property as it was handed out.»
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Slow down, it’s what your brain has been begging for
It’s no small task to live a life of sustained attention. So slow down, and give your brain a break to do its work
«Paying attention to the moment during a walk shifts focus away from the internally generated, anxiety-provoking scenarios, creating much-needed space.»
How to know what you really want
From career choices to new purchases, use René Girard’s mimetic theory to resist the herd and forge your own path in life
«These are people whose desires are in some sense intertwined with your own – they can affect your desires, and you can in turn affect theirs»
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The meaning of life is not a puzzle that can be solved once and for all. Asking ‘How should we live?’ defines our humanity
Bonhoeffer's "theory of stupidity": We have more to fear from stupid people than evil ones
Bonhoeffer's "theory of stupidity" posits that we have more to fear from stupidity than evil. The latter is easier to defeat than the former.
«onhoeffer’s argument is that the more someone becomes part of the establishment, the less an individual they become»
The Impotence of Being Clever
The cleverness that proliferates in public life today is a nuisance.
«Søren Kierkegaard, who placed a genuinely religious life before a merely aesthetic one, wrote that “the law»
Heresy
April 2022One of the most surprising things I've witnessed in my lifetime is the rebirth of the concept of heresy.In his excellent life of Newton, Richard Westfall writes about the moment when he was…
What Happens When Modern Society Rebrands an Ancient Philosophy?
Everyone from Silicon Valley billionaires to self-help enthusiasts is repurposing Stoicism for our modern age, with results that are good, bad, and highly indifferent.
«Things like “wake up early,” “go for a walk,” “journal,” “eat well,” “read,” and “get active” are good pieces of advice, but surely not specifically Stoic behaviors. »
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