Existential crisis? Try reading Wordsworth
For many generations of readers, the poetry of William Wordsworth has been an irreplaceable balm for the soul
by Sam Dresser
Sam Dresser
Senior Editor, Aeon+Psyche
Sam has been with Aeon since its launch in 2012. He’s most interested in how to do philosophy and in the continental/analytic divide. History and politics are also amusing to him. He considers Evelyn Waugh to be a very funny writer and enjoys pubs more than he should.
Written by Sam Dresser
A lesson from the Son of Man’s manhood
Renaissance artists paid uncommon attention to Jesus’ nether regions. What does this breach in modesty reveal about art?
by Sam Dresser
Why ‘false authenticity’ is so unsettling
The Old Town of Würzburg seemed to offer a real connection to the past. But none of it was authentic
by Sam Dresser
As if
Why we should embrace beliefs or stories that may not be, strictly speaking, true but are to some extent useful or good
by Sam Dresser
An unlikely meeting that shaped history
The diplomatic intervention by a philosopher on a president shows the extraordinary consequences of unlikely meetings
by Sam Dresser
True contact is found in silence
For Emil Cioran, ‘true contact’ with another is the deep intimacy that emerges through mute togetherness
by Sam Dresser
The ancients dreamt the same dreams as us
There is something comforting about realising that, even in Homer’s day, people wondered what the hell their dreams meant
by Sam Dresser
Forgetting in ancient Greece and China
Forgetting can be frustrating, even scary. The ancient Greeks certainly thought so. But Daoism offers a more hopeful view
by Sam Dresser
Edited by Sam Dresser
Why we should embrace ‘nepantla’ – the in-betweenness of life
In an age of strong political commitments, a Nahuatl word encapsulates the freedom to let go of what has become oppressive
by Carlos Alberto Sánchez
For some with mental illness, it’s not always good to talk
Well-meaning campaigns urge openness and conversation about mental health struggles. But there are those who cherish silence
by Dan Degerman
Dignity isn’t bestowed, it must be continually practised
Reckoning with the complex history of dignity reveals its fragility and what Hannah Arendt recognised as its conditionality
by Christa Teston
Heidegger knew that we are always outside, weathering the storms
We aren’t safe inside separate minds. Being-in-the-world means we’re entangled and vulnerable – and that’s how we flourish
by Katherine Withy
The existential struggle between being a ‘we’ and an ‘us’
Sartre’s phenomenology reveals how a shift from subject to object (and back) is not merely a matter of grammar
by Tris Hedges
True courage isn’t being fearless, it’s fearing well
Aristotle created the blueprint for the bravery we need to resist injustice and do the right thing, even at our own risk
by Andrew Culbreth
How to build a memory palace
Upgrade your ability to recall dates, names or other details with an ancient trick of the memory trade: the ‘method of loci’
by Lynne Kelly
Even if we could speak to animals, should we?
AI could satisfy our deeply held desire to talk to other creatures. But the potential for harm might outweigh the benefits
by Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert & Leonie Bossert