Philosophy & Thinking
Big ideas from the thinkers who shaped them.
Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev and Platonov
Where to start with Russian literature: essential works by Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gogol, Turgenev and Platonov, and why each is worth reading.
The Power of Intellectual Enjoyment: What I Learned from Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
When I first picked up Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, I had no idea how profoundly it would shape my understanding of intellectual fulfillment.
The Architecture of Love: On Sacrifice, Silence, and the Courage to Stay Human
There is a house that exists in no city, appears on no map, and requires no architect.
"Brooks Was Here": The Existential Crisis Hidden Inside The Shawshank Redemption
These were the words of a schoolteacher taking attendance, trying to remind a student that simply showing up has value. But the student, Zein, wasn’t convinced.
Life-Changing Lessons: How Great Philosophers Transformed My Perspective
A personal journey of how reading philosophers like Camus, Kafka, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and Socrates transformed my perspective on life
From Zero to Infinity: A Playful Mathematical Journey Through Nihilism and Pragmatism
Explore a fun, mathematical journey blending nihilism and pragmatism to navigate life's complexities, inspired by influential mentors.
The Steps of Zarathustra: Lessons from Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" is a philosophical novel that has captivated readers for over a century.
Unveiling the Wisdom of Ibn Khaldun's "The Muqaddimah"
In a world pulsating with the ceaseless rhythm of change, seeking wisdom from the annals of history often offers a beacon of enlightenment.
Exploring Marxism: Lessons from Richard D. Wolff's "Understanding Marxism
Lessons from Richard D. Wolff's Understanding Marxism: class struggle, capitalism's contradictions and worker ownership as economic democracy.
Forget the Grand Theory: How a "Theory of Nothing" Can Help You Be Healthier
Health psychology is obsessed with finding the one theory to rule them all: a master key to unlocking every health behavior. But what if that's a dead end?
The Pleasures of Philosophy: Reflections on Will Durant's "The Story of Philosophy"
Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy: great thinkers told through their lives, why it suits beginners and why philosophy can be a pleasure.
Philosophy as Spiritual Exercise: Pierre Hadot's "Philosophy as a Way of Life"
Pierre Hadot's Philosophy as a Way of Life: ancient philosophy as spiritual exercises for transforming the self, and how to recover that practice.
The Élan Vital: Henri Bergson's "Creative Evolution"
Henri Bergson's Creative Evolution: the élan vital, duration versus clock time, intuition as knowledge and why the future is truly open.
The Power of Being Wrong: Popper's "The Logic of Scientific Discovery"
Karl Popper's The Logic of Scientific Discovery: the problem of induction, falsifiability as the mark of science and why we learn through error.
The Big Questions in Small Words: Thomas Nagel's "What Does It All Mean?"
Thomas Nagel's What Does It All Mean?: a jargon-free introduction to philosophy's big questions, and why anyone can do philosophy.
Private Wealth, Public Squalor: Galbraith's "The Affluent Society"
Galbraith's The Affluent Society: conventional wisdom, private opulence and public squalor, the dependence effect and what affluence is for.
Why Poverty Grows With Progress: Henry George's "Progress and Poverty"
Henry George's Progress and Poverty: why poverty persists amid progress, land and rent, the single tax on land values and unearned wealth.
The Ideology We Don't See: Žižek's "The Sublime Object of Ideology"
Žižek's The Sublime Object of Ideology: why ideology lives in actions, not beliefs, why cynical distance doesn't free us and how hard it is to step outside.
Capitalism and Freedom: Milton Friedman's Case for the Free Market
Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom makes the case that economic and political freedom are linked. A fair reading of the free-market classic.
Globalization and Its Discontents: Joseph Stiglitz on a Fairer Global Economy
Joseph Stiglitz's Globalization and Its Discontents: how the IMF's one-size-fits-all policies hurt developing countries, and how to make globalization fairer.
The Ethics of Authenticity: Charles Taylor on Being True to Yourself
Charles Taylor's The Ethics of Authenticity: the noble roots of being true to yourself, its debased forms and the horizons of significance it needs.
Why Good People Are Divided: Haidt's "The Righteous Mind"
Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind: intuition before reasoning, the six moral foundations and why left and right talk past each other.
How Freedom Dies: Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism"
Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism: why totalitarianism was new, how loneliness, ideology and terror destroy freedom, and why it matters.
The Biology of Being Human: E.O. Wilson's "On Human Nature"
E.O. Wilson's On Human Nature: sociobiology, the evolutionary roots of behaviour, genes on a leash and the limits of biological explanation.