Essay Yes, the Chinese care about the Western classics January 24, 2023 Much as in Europe and the US, the ancient Greeks live on in China through their works鈥攁t least, recently so. Over the past century, the philosophical and political texts of western antiquity, especially those of classical Athens, have sparked the interest of Chinese intellectuals, journalists, reformers, and nationalists. Read More
Essay Flipping failure January 09, 2023 鈥淔ailing big鈥� has been much in the news鈥攊t鈥檚 part of an exciting strategy that also includes 鈥渕ove fast and break things鈥� and 鈥渘o risk, no reward!鈥� But what about failing small? Read More
Podcast Listen in: What Do You Want Out of Life? January 06, 2023 What do you want out of life? To make a lot of money鈥攐r work for justice? To run marathons鈥攐r sing in a choir? To have children鈥攐r travel the world? The things we care about in life鈥攆amily, friendship, leisure activities, work, our moral ideals鈥攐ften conflict, preventing us from doing what matters most to us. Read More
Essay Live longer by living better, says Seneca December 05, 2022 Because we can't truly conceive of an endpoint to life, we give to our time far less value than we should, squandering it on useless pursuits or frivolities. Read More
Interview Democracy鈥檚 dilemmas: Ewa Atanassow in conversation with Schuyler Curriden November 15, 2022 How can today鈥檚 liberal democracies withstand the illiberal wave sweeping the globe? What can revive our waning faith in constitutional democracy? Read More
Essay Gurus of degrowth: Say hello to the ancient Cynics November 03, 2022 Mark Twain once quipped 鈥淗eaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.鈥� Read More
Podcast How to Say No November 01, 2022 The Cynics were ancient Greek philosophers who stood athwart the flood of society鈥檚 material excess, unexamined conventions, and even norms of politeness and thundered 鈥淣o!鈥� Diogenes, the most famous Cynic, wasn鈥檛 shy about literally extending his middle finger to the world, expressing mock surprise that 鈥渕ost people go crazy over a finger.鈥� Read More
Essay On consolation, grief, and coping, and heaven October 24, 2022 Psychotherapy is not a recent invention. Thousands of years before Freud, Greek thinkers had discovered the seemingly magical effects that words can have to soothe the mind. Read More
Reading List A student鈥檚 guide to a good-enough year August 18, 2022 As schools begin to stabilize from COVID-19 disruptions, the pressures that have long been accumulating on students show no signs of slowing. Employment uncertainties, rising financial burdens, and unrelenting competition have layered on top of decades of cultural messaging to persevere doggedly and push oneself beyond the limits to achieve excellence. Read More
Essay A new way of life July 06, 2022 Every day billions of people devote a significant amount of time to worshiping an imaginary being. More precisely, they praise, exalt, and pray to the God of the major Abrahamic religions. They put their hopes in鈥攁nd they fear鈥攁 transcendent, supernatural deity that, they believe, created the world and now exercises providence over it. Read More
Podcast When Animals Dream June 20, 2022 Are humans the only dreamers on Earth? What goes on in the minds of animals when they sleep?聽When Animals Dream聽brings together behavioral and neuroscientific research on animal sleep with philosophical theories of dreaming. Read More
Essay Aristotle on how to write a story May 18, 2022 Back when I was a first-year college student and thought I knew everything already, I remember my English composition professor telling us that Aristotle鈥檚 Poetics contained everything we needed to know about becoming great writers. Read More
Essay Why some mistaken views catch on May 18, 2022 As I was walking back from university one day, a respectable-looking middle-aged man accosted me. He spun a good story: he was a doctor working in the local hospital, he had to rush to some urgent doctorly thing, but he鈥檇 lost his wallet, and he had no money for a cab ride. Read More
Essay Goodbye, Europe May 12, 2022 Depending on how you look at it, the timing was either fortunate or ill-fated.聽The Fifth International Congress for the Unity of Science met at Harvard from 3鈥�9 September 1939. Read More
Essay Why tech innovation alone isn鈥檛 good enough April 20, 2022 The list of crises we face today seems to grow daily. As if inequality and civil wars and global warming and refugee crises weren't enough, we have also grappled with a global pandemic and the sudden threat of nuclear war. Read More
