The Undercurrent
The Undercurrent Returning to the Room With No Walls This is a personal philosophy I’ve never publicly articulated. An internal compass I’ve started to return to when belief systems and frameworks fall short. It isn’t rooted in faith, spirituality, or reverence for a higher being. It asks for no worship, prescribes no moral code, and […]
A Brief History of Philosophy
A Brief History of Philosophy Contents I. The Western Tradition: From Cosmos to the Self II. The Indian Tradition: The Architecture of Liberation III. The Chinese Tradition: The Art of Living Together IV. The Questions That Braid the Traditions Together V. What the History Teaches VI. Cross-Links The long conversation: the major players of Western […]
The Religiosity Cup
The Religiosity Cup Contents I. What the Vessel Was For II. What Is Worth Drinking The Ethical Core: How to Treat One Another The Contemplative Core: How to Steady the Mind The Meaning and Belonging Core: How to Bear a Life III. Why You Must Not Binge IV. How to Drink Well V. Cross-Links A […]
Language & Meaning
Language & Meaning Contents I. The Water We Swim In Words Carve Up the World Does Your Language Trap Your Thought? When the Problem Is the Words II. Making Sense of It All Where Meaning Comes From The Responses to the Void Building Meaning Deliberately Cross-Links The medium we think in, and the meaning we […]
Philosophy’s Shortcomings
Philosophy’s Shortcomings Contents I. When Reason Floats Free of Reality II. When the Problem Is Made of Words III. The Awkward Question Of Progress IV. The Gap Between Knowing and Doing V. When Thinking Becomes the Trap VI. What Philosophy Is For, Given All This VII. Cross-Links Why thinking, on its own, is never enough. […]
Life Lessons
Life Lessons Contents I. On the Mind II. On Wanting III. On Hardship IV. On Other People V. On Action VI. On Time and Death VII. The Lesson Beneath the Lessons VIII. Cross-Links The distilled wisdom. Strip away the schools, the jargon, and the arguments, and ask the only question that matters: across thousands […]
The Road to Sapiens
The Road to Sapiens Contents I. The Vertebrate March II. Becoming Primate III. Becoming Ape. Becoming Hominin IV. The Metabolic Revolution V. Fire: The First External Engine VI. Becoming Sapiens VII. Human Universals VIII. What We Do Not Know IX. The Takeaway X. Cross-Links What makes a human what it is, and the important factors […]
The Sapien Rabbit Hole
The Sapiens Rabbit Hole Contents I. First, the Real State of the Question II. The Cooking Hypothesis III. The Aquatic and Coastal Hypothesis IV. The Stoned Ape Theory V. Psychedelics and the Origin of Religion VI. The Symbolic Leap VII. Are We Still Evolving? VIII. Open Research Questions IX. Future Topics X. Resources Bridge Alternative […]
The Alien’s Guide to the Human
The Alien’s Guide to the Human A non-biased view of the human being. Every other page in this section was written by a human about humans, which means every other page is, to some degree, compromised. We cannot help flattering ourselves, or in the modern fashion, theatrically loathing ourselves, which is just flattery wearing […]
Status Anxiety
Status Anxiety Author: Alain De Botton Topics: Social, philosophy, anxiety, religion All information is attributed to the author. Except in the case where we may have misunderstood a concept and summarized incorrectly. These notes are only for reference and we always suggest reading from the original source. Contents Definitions Part One: Causes I. Lovelessness II. […]