Just as philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre was writing fiction, so did his lifelong partner, philosopher and feminist activist Simone de Beauvoir. Here is a short quote from her story "The Age of Discretion", in the voice of the main character, a recently retired former teacher, intellectual, active writer, mother, and wife. "Reflexions, echoes, reverberating back and … Continue reading Philosophical Quote About Aging
Philosophical Quote From Philosophical Novel
This is a short quote from Jean-Paul Sartre's novel "Nausea", thought by the novel's main (and practically only) character, a disillusioned historian. "I am beginning to believe that nothing can ever be proved. These are reasonable hypotheses which take the facts into account: but I am only too well aware that they come from me, … Continue reading Philosophical Quote From Philosophical Novel
Where Are You From?
What appears as a straightforward question contains a lot of implicit assumptions. One of those close to the surface is, for example, the idea that 'being from somewhere' means having been born and grown up there. What if a person was born in one place, moved somewhere else before they could even remember themselves, then … Continue reading Where Are You From?
Spreading the Word: What Is Bibliotherapy?
Can books help us heal? The author of this recent article on Psyche shares his experience of bibliotherapy: "Reading books is not just a pleasure: it helps our minds to heal". Here is the link to the article: Reading Books as a Therapy. Enjoy! Keeping up the "Spreading the Word" tradition, I hope to share … Continue reading Spreading the Word: What Is Bibliotherapy?
What Is A Good Book? Philosophical Response
What do we mean when we evaluate a book as good or bad? Let's take a philosophical look at it.
Spreading the Word: Philosophy Reading Suggestions
Beginner-friendly philosophy reading list with 7 suggestions.
Book Review: P. Adamson “Al-Kindi”
A review of philosophy professor Peter Adamson's 2007 book on al-Kindi, the 9th-century Arabic polymath and philosopher.
Spreading the Word: Effects of Reading
Today I share with you an interesting short video by BBC Ideas on how reading affects us. The video covers both on-screen and physical book reading, offers some insightful data, and, finally, ends with an important takeaway message about our potential future depending in part on our reading habits. Enjoy! Link to the video: What … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Effects of Reading
Quote for the Day
It is all right for the mayflies. It is all right if you know you only have another thirty or fourty years. You can afford to think small. You can find it easy to imagine that you are a fixed thing, inside a fixed nation, with a fixed flag, and a fixed outlook. You can … Continue reading Quote for the Day
Thoughts on Ian McCrorie’s Book “A Lifetime Doing Nothing”
This short book by the Canadian author Ian McCrorie is a collection of personal stories, stories of others, and insights gained from experience, all of which centres around one skill - doing nothing. If that sounds like no skill at all, keep on reading. Doing nothing, understood in the way McCrorie explains it, might be … Continue reading Thoughts on Ian McCrorie’s Book “A Lifetime Doing Nothing”
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