“The past is a cemetery of promises which havenot been kept.”Paul Ricoeur Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005) was a French philosopher who contributed to combining phenomenological descriptions of human reality with hermeneutic interpretations. The way I experience something and the way I make sense of it influence each other and are interwoven into one whole. This thinking … Continue reading A Thought on History and Identity
Problem With Scapegoating
Have you noticed how, sometimes, a little too often, scapegoating someone or some group of people is used as a political solution to a national identity crisis? It seems the hope is that finding an external 'foe' and offloading all 'our' problems on them as the purported cause of our woes should help bolster people's … Continue reading Problem With Scapegoating
What Is Philosophy? Thinking About the Question (Part 2 of 2)
In this second part of my essay (see the first part here), I focus on exploring the relational identity of philosophy in terms of philosophy’s social relevance and contributions. A number of recent articles have directly or indirectly addressed the question of philosophy’s identity. Some of the common themes that emerged include philosophy’s role … Continue reading What Is Philosophy? Thinking About the Question (Part 2 of 2)
What Is Philosophy? Thinking About the Question (Part 1 of 2)
What is philosophy? What are the mysterious people called ‘philosophers’ doing, and what is their role in human society? In this paper, I do not aim to answer these questions definitively. Instead, my goal is to explore the question itself. What do we mean when we ask what is philosophy and what is the role of philosophers? … Continue reading What Is Philosophy? Thinking About the Question (Part 1 of 2)
Spreading the Word: Opening for Truth
The question of collective guilt is a thorny one. If I have done nothing wrong, personally, then how can I be guilty of something others did, even if I share a part of my social or cultural identity with them? But what is the content of this shared identity? Could it be the case that, … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Opening for Truth
How to Understand Identity
What is your identity? When someone asks you who you are, what are the first things that come to your mind? Are they your identity? Thinking about our identities is crucial for people, and we do it many times in our lives. It is unsurprising that throughout history, philosophers have engaged with the question of identity … Continue reading How to Understand Identity
Frantz Fanon on Identity Drama
Our identities are shaped and exist in relation to others. The way others relate to me and the way I can relate to them is fundamental to my sense of self, of who I am. When relationships play such a crucial role, some amount of drama is inevitable. However, we can become the prisoners of … Continue reading Frantz Fanon on Identity Drama
Spreading the Word: What Is Lived Experience?
People use the expression 'lived experience' with increasing frequency. We usually mean it as the first-person privileged access to a particular way of experiencing something. Usually, this particular way is intertwined with and expressed in various social identity terms. My lived experience as a woman, as a migrant, as an Eastern European, and so on. … Continue reading Spreading the Word: What Is Lived Experience?
Visiting St Paul’s Catacombs in Malta – Part 3: The Rituals
I visited St Paul's catacombs in the first week of this year. It turned out to be a much more exciting experience than I had expected, so I decided to write a short series of articles about it. This is the third and final part where I explore the burial rites linked to the people's … Continue reading Visiting St Paul’s Catacombs in Malta – Part 3: The Rituals
Spreading the Word: What Is True Cosmopolitan?
What does it mean to be cosmopolitan? The word literally translates as a citizen or resident of the world. The entire world. Is it possible to belong everywhere? Doesn't that mean to belong nowhere? In today's short and inspiring video, the author Elif Shafak talks about cosmopolitanism and how we all have multiple belongings shaping … Continue reading Spreading the Word: What Is True Cosmopolitan?
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