Thought-provoking articles about human nature from diverse thinkers
Thinking and intelligence
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Why some of the smartest people can be so very stupid
Struggling to understand is perfectly honourable. Being wilfully stupid is something else and we should strive to fix it
by Sacha Golob
History and philosophy of mental health
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One woman’s six-word mantra that has helped to calm millions
Ahead of her time, yet largely ignored by psychiatry, Claire Weekes taught millions of readers how to overcome anxiety
by Judith Hoare
Love
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Love shouldn’t be blind or mad. Instead, fall rationally in love
Blind, all-consuming love goes against your interests and impedes your flourishing. Submit your love to rational scrutiny
by Berit Brogaard
Money and economics
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Why efficiency is dangerous and slowing down makes life better
The urge to do everything faster and better is risky. Far wiser to do what’s good enough for the range of possible futures
by Barry Schwartz
Creativity
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To be creative, Chinese philosophy teaches us to abandon ‘originality’
Whether grieving a death or connecting to colleagues, creativity enables an artful life, according to Chinese philosophy
by Julianne Chung
Personality
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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
Sex and sexuality
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What rude jibes about Caesar tell us about sex in ancient Rome
‘Every woman’s man and every man’s woman’ was a slur Julius Caesar’s political opponents levied. What did it mean?
by Aven McMaster
Emotion regulation
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The best way to exercise self-control is not to exercise it at all
Accept it: your self-control is weak. You’re more likely to reach long-term goals if you find ways to avoid temptation
by Laverl Z Williamson
Nature and the environment
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The fungal mind: on the evidence for mushroom intelligence
The evidence for fungal intelligence is in: they can operate as individuals, make decisions, learn, and have short-term memory
by Nicholas P Money
Civic life
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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
Emotion regulation
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The Stoics were right – emotional control is good for the soul
Both neuroscience and psychotherapy agree that you can change your mental framework as the Stoic Marcus Aurelius described
by István Darabán
Thinking and intelligence
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Lost perspective? Try this linguistic trick to reset your view
By using ‘distanced self-talk’, you can leverage the structure of language to take a step back and see the bigger picture
by Ariana Orvell