Human nature

Self-knowledge and personal growth Relationships, work and leisure Values and ethical living

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Personality

idea

Introverts are excluded unfairly in an extraverts’ world

One in three people are introverts, physically present, but culturally absent. We shouldn’t have to change to be heard

by Noa Herz

Human nature

idea

Do humans really have a killer instinct or is that just manly fancy?

The killer-instinct idea achieved such cultural power because it came embedded in gripping stories about human nature

by Nadine Weidman

Two people are on top of a craggy hill in lakeland scenery in winter. They look small against a big sky

Nature and the environment

guide

How to rewild yourself

You didn’t evolve to live in this techno-industrialised world. Find health and happiness by embracing your wild nature

by Jessica Carew Kraft

Illustration of a person with curly hair, wearing large glasses and a sleeveless top, looking back over their shoulder.

Love

film

Surreal vignettes form a meditation on love in this Oscar-winning short

Directed by Alberto Mielgo

Black and white photograph of people among the rubble of collapsed buildings, including a partially standing tower, with bare trees in view.

Human nature

idea

The radical aristocrat who put kindness on a scientific footing

Peter Kropotkin took on social Darwinism, casting evolution in a cooperative light and laying the groundwork for mutual aid

by Lydia Syson

A young woman in a red bikini and an older man in black trunks cool off at an outdoor shower, with a sunny beach background.

Gender

idea

What sex-difference science misses about the messy reality of sex

Men aren’t from Mars, women aren’t from Venus, and other persistent myths derived from debunked sex-difference science

by Jeffrey W Lockhart

Sex and sexuality

film

The filmmakers who transform fantasies into videos with an audience of one

Directed by Chung Nguyen

A portrait painting of a woman with a solemn expression and dark hair against a dark, textured background.

Emotions

idea

Are you sure you know what emotions are?

It’s tricky to define what an emotion is: is surprise one, or something else? Here are a few simple rules to get started

by Andrew Ortony

Violence and aggression

idea

Ever taken pleasure in another’s pain? That’s ‘everyday sadism’

It’s not just killers who are sadistic. To counteract the suffering caused by everyday sadism, recognise how common it is

by Lucy Foulkes

Black and white photo of photographers taking pictures of a meerkat at a zoo, with onlookers in the background.

Animals

film

The zoo is a funhouse mirror that reflects and refracts the peculiarities of being human

Directed by Bert Haanstra