Last week, I wrote about ‘the way of art’, the second post in a series exploring the question ‘what is philosophy’. The series follows a recently published academic article by philosopher Kuzin Vasily*. In case you missed it, I recommend you start with part one and part two before continuing with this post (it will … Continue reading What Is Philosophy – Part 3
Spreading the Word: Tangled Business of Desire
It's great knowing what you want and going after it. But sometimes, perhaps more often than we care to admit, it is a too-good-to-be-true sort of story. I don't mean it just in the sense that it can be very difficult or even impossible to get what you want. There is a more surreptitious side … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Tangled Business of Desire
What Is Philosophy – Part 2
Last week, I introduced a series of posts exploring the question ‘what is philosophy’. It follows a recently published academic article of the same title by philosopher Kuzin Vasily*. In case you missed it, I recommend you start with part one before continuing with this post (it will make more sense that way). Here, in … Continue reading What Is Philosophy – Part 2
Spreading the Word: Thinking When Reading and Listening
Have you noticed a difference in your thought process when reading and listening? Recent research suggests there is indeed a difference. We tend to think more intuitively, more automatically when we listen to something and more deliberately and analytically when we read something. While it is not entirely clear why this is so, one possible … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Thinking When Reading and Listening
What Is Philosophy – Part 1
Many of us think we know what philosophy or art is. At least until we are asked to explain them. A universal, clear definition eludes us. That does not mean we should stop reflecting on it. On the contrary, it makes things more interesting! Earlier this year, one more contribution to the debate arrived in … Continue reading What Is Philosophy – Part 1
Spreading the Word: East-West Narrative
The idea that there are inherent differences in how people think between the Western and Eastern cultures is widespread and popular. However, as recent research in cross-cultural psychology clearly shows, it is also a sweeping oversimplification. In the words of one of the researchers, "We are much more diverse – but, at the same time, … Continue reading Spreading the Word: East-West Narrative
Postmodernism in a Quote
While modernism was based on idealism and reason, postmodernism was born of scepticism and a suspicion of reason. It challenged the notion that there are universal certainties or truths. Postmodern art drew on philosophy of the mid to late twentieth century, and advocated that individual experience and interpretation of our experience was more concrete than … Continue reading Postmodernism in a Quote
Spreading the Word: Enter Animal Dreamworld
If we think that our dreamworlds are strange and incomprehensible, what can we say about the dreams of other, non-human animals? There is some fascinating research done in this area. It can give us a glimpse of the richness and variety of perceptions that are beyond our wildest dreams (pun intended). Have a look at … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Enter Animal Dreamworld
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: Emotional Decomposition
Let's do a thought experiment. What would happen if we interpreted our emotional, existential, identity crises as analogous to the physical and chemical process of decomposition? Could the rawness of our emotions and thoughts during these times be viewed as the raw material that we will eventually process into a new, transformed self? Today I … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Emotional Decomposition
humanfactor 