Civic life
![Close-up of a stone sculpture of a man’s face with detailed features, set against a plain background. The expression appears solemn.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/9e900ae3-e033-4e0b-a4f2-ea18356aff2a/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Civic life
idea
Don’t be stoic: Roman Stoicism’s origins show its perniciousness
Stoicism might help you as an individual. But we need a philosophy that doesn’t dull us to the injustices of the world
by Henry Gruber
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/8c61b923-7c5e-479f-9e8c-7d1642fe825e/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Civic life
idea
You want people to do the right thing? Save them the guilt trip
If you want to inspire people to do the right thing, don’t guilt-trip them. Positive emotions are a more powerful motivator
by Claudia R Schneider
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/8f9d0130-cee9-4508-978a-6601a32c9843/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Civic life
guide
How to interpret historical analogies
They’re good for kickstarting political debate but analogies with the past are often ahistorical and should be treated with care
by Moshik Temkin
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/45a7ed53-41e2-49d4-8493-977b9676ec71/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
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
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/29906f02-7e4d-4734-ad94-34f81dcc5d43/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Virtues and vices
idea
As the Ancient Greeks knew, frankness is an essential virtue
Who can speak truth to the leaders? The story of parrhesía, from classical Greece to Christian martyrs and beyond
by Hartmut Leppin
![Volunteers in blue vests handing out hot meals to people on a city street.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/c38ed2ca-8617-4900-ba80-821a5900abd4/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Civic life
guide
How to be a hands-on citizen
You can be so much more than a well-informed consumer: it is in your (and our) power to change society from the ground up
by Jon Alexander
![An elderly man with a white beard holds a U.S. flag at an outdoor gathering, with other attendees and flags visible in the background.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/50eb6b4a-c13a-4325-af20-6cfe92ac2fe9/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Values and beliefs
idea
Popper was right about the link between certainty and extremism
In terms of irrational confidence, many people at opposite ends of the political spectrum seem to have something in common
by Thomas Costello & Shauna Bowes
![Braided river with shallow channels flowing through a landscape of red and brown vegetation, against a backdrop of distant mountains.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/ea2b2407-fb17-42a0-bb5e-195265921bfa/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Nature and the environment
idea
What does water want? Most humans seem to have forgotten
Asking what water wants sounds a bit mystical, even radical. But it’s a practical, proven path to creating a better world
by Erica Gies
![A couple sit in deckchairs beneath a parasol gazing out at the ocean](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/6f7ba40a-0a09-4e83-a7c1-26fb054ed4d5/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Civic life
guide
How to escape climate apathy
Do you recognise there’s a climate emergency, yet find yourself looking away? Here’s how to get motivated and take action now
by Elizabeth Cripps