Society & Culture
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Read more: The Spectacle of Evolution
In the late 20th century, philosophers warned of a coming Spectacle – a world where reality would be eclipsed by images and appearances. They saw modern life turning into an immense show, a perpetual carnival of impressions. In this spectacle, everything that was directly lived began to move into representation, as one thinker famously put…
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Read more: Is There a Moral Obligation to Grant Rights to Artificial Life?
Moral progress often involves expanding our circle of concern beyond our own kind. In past centuries, basic rights were denied to many humans on the basis of race, gender, or class; over time, these distinctions have been eroded as we recognized shared personhood. In recent decades, we’ve begun to seriously discuss rights for non-human creatures.…
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Read more: Does Transcendental Meditation Improve Creativity?
A soft morning light spills into a cluttered studio. In the corner, a famous songwriter sits quietly with eyes closed, a gentle rise and fall of breath the only motion. No audience applauds this scene; no camera captures it. For twenty minutes, the artist lets the world fall away, repeating a silent mantra. In that…
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Read more: Growing Beyond the Competitive Lens: Reframing Human Nature Toward Cooperation
On a sunny playground, a group of children races toward a finish line… Nearby, a teacher posts gold stars on a chart for the top test scores, while parents speak proudly of their kid being “ahead of the others.” Scenes like these play out every day, teaching us a powerful lesson early on: life is…
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Read more: It's Solstice! Let's Explore Five Summer Solstice Traditions from Around the World
Every year, around the time of the summer solstice — the longest day of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere… communities across the globe honor the sun with vibrant rituals and ancient celebrations. These traditions, rooted in pagan or pre-Christian practices, bridge the distant past and the living present. Bonfires crackle against twilight skies, drums echo…
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Read more: Positive Perspectives on Falling Birth Rates?
In maternity wards from Tokyo to Toronto, a curious quietude is growing. Across the world, families are choosing to have fewer children. Where once the average home brimmed with many siblings, now one or two little faces at the dinner table have become common in many societies. This global shift in birth rates is often…
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Read more: Finding Joy in Troubled Times
We exist in a time that has been called a “polycrisis.” This means we exist in a confluence of multiple political, economic, and environmental issues which continue to compound each other to a mass-existential level. Although recent times have been an unusual period of comfort and stability the pendulum is swinging to a direction that…
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Read more: The Artist in a Time Before Consumerism
Lately I’ve been very concerned about the online discourse regarding art. It’s not unique that we’re discussing art in the context of consumer culture, but as technology advances and opportunity for economic advancement in the arts declines from the relatively unique reality created in the 20th and early 21st centuries, it’s important for artists to…
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Read more: Flat Earth: Satire, Conspiracy, or Modern Folklore
If you travel to the edges of the Earth, you might find the great Ice Wall that holds the oceans in. Beyond it lies the unknown. At least, that’s what some believers in an old-new idea imagine. In a hotel conference room, a charismatic speaker clicks to the next slide of a presentation. The screen…
