Spreading the Word: Frankl’s Quotes on Meaning

In this short video, you will hear some of what Viktor Frankl had to say about our need for meaning. Given his severe and bitter personal experience (Nazi camps survivor), I find his thoughtful words particularly inspiring and motivating. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HUtKHLHeAY Keeping up the "Spreading the Word" tradition, every weekend, I hope to share an …

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Life in Search of Narrative

The 20th-century French philosopher Paul Ricoeur wrote in his 1991 essay Life in Quest of Narrative that life is "an activity and passion in search of a narrative". Indeed, it is hard to overstate how important the stories are to us, human beings. Narrative is a medium through which we make sense, interpret, understand, identify, …

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Danger of Ideas

Humans are different. Unlike any other animal, they are ready to die for their beliefs. Monotheists an rationalists regard this as a mark of our superiority. It shows we live for the sake of ideas, not just instinctual satisfaction. But if humans are unique in dying for ideas, they are also alone in killing for …

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Cats and the Meaning of Life

"Cats do not plan their lives; they live them as they come. Humans cannot help making their lives into a story. But since they cannot know how their life will end, life disrupts the story they try to tell of it. So they end up living as cats do, by chance."John Gray "Feline Philosophy: Cats …

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Spreading the Word: Inspirational Norse Wisdom

Enjoy this selection of inspirational Norse wisdom quotes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPe3JysjYZk Keeping up the "Spreading the Word" tradition, every weekend, I hope to share with you an article I've read or a video I've seen and considered to be inspiring and insightful. I feel it is important to take good care both of our physical and mental …

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“All Are Ennobled by Truth” Quote by al-Kindi

The first Arabic philosopher, 9th century thinker al-Kindī, said that truth and wisdom are valuable regardless of where they come from. What did he mean?