Freedom is a worthy goal: the slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus said it was in fact the highest virtue, and over the course of human history many millions have perished seeking it, attaining it, or defending it. But, if you’re lucky enough to […]
Guest post by Chris Folland (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-folland-5b3b9814/) Here’s a life question for you: Do you want to do what you want, when you want, with whom you want… for as long as you want? That’s an interesting question, which is often […]
Intellectual humility as a virtue has taken a real beating lately: our bruising political “discourse,” rancorous media punditry, and social media echo chambers all seem to celebrate, encourage, and reward staking out a position and sticking to it with ferocious […]
Every year, I spend a few weeks after New Year’s reflecting on the past year and how things went: what did I accomplish? How did I feel? Did I help my family, friends, and associates with the goals they wanted […]
Facing a barrage of global and local crises of all kinds over the last several months, media pundits large and small (not to mention your crazy uncle Ralph) are offering up a bewildering and contradictory variety of opinions, each of […]
In 1949, the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein visited Norman Malcolm (a professor of Philosophy at Cornell and a former student of Wittgenstein’s) for three months. On the first night of Wittgenstein’s visit, the Malcolms presented a makeshift dinner of liverwurst sandwiches, […]
Will COVID19 cause us to re-think government policy around economic security in the United States? Is some kind of basic financial security a privilege for the few, or a necessity for all citizens, especially in times of crisis? For at […]
The world is a scary place right now: the novel coronavirus is spreading around the globe; the Saudis and Russians have picked the worst possible moment to engage in an all-out oil price war; financial markets have dropped about 30% […]
It’s the New Year, the season when we typically make our lists of resolutions – the things we resolve to do in the coming year to make progress on our goals. The practice is an ancient one with religious roots, […]
My last couple of posts, on our travels through Rwanda and Uganda, were pretty serious: suffering, forgiveness, reconciliation, compassion, kindness, and connection are all important topics but can be rather sobering. So it’s crucial to remember that, in the face […]
