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Thinkers and theories

Medieval painting of a woman writing by a window with a ship on the sea outside, wearing a dark gown and hood.

Change and self-development

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How to find inner peace like Saint Teresa of Ávila

The 16th-century ‘spiritual rock-star’ shows how seeing your soul as a castle can be a source of strength and consolation

by Skye C Cleary

An Indigenous Australian man carrying a child on his shoulders walking through bushland observing a ‘cool’ burn (used to control underbrush), with smoke and flames in the background.

Knowledge and reason

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There is knowledge in the land as well as in ourselves

Indigenous Australian knowledge systems understand what Descartes didn’t – the natural world has important things to tell us

by Andrew Kirkpatrick

Black and white photo of people embracing and saying goodbye at a train station.

Love

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It’s possible to become wiser in who you entrust with your love

Love is not merely irrational – there’s a sense in which it’s also based on reason, which means we can get better at it

by Joel Van Fossen

Painting of two weasels playing among trees in a vibrantly coloured landscape.

Communication and language

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For this unsung philosopher, metaphors make life an adventure

Susanne K Langer understood the indispensable power of metaphors, which allow us to say new things with old words

by Sue Curry Jansen & Jeff Pooley

Photo of a man sunbathing on a rooftop next to a large satellite dish.

Progress and the future

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Why it’s possible to be optimistic in a world of bad news

The original optimist, Leibniz, was mocked and misunderstood. Centuries later, his worldview can help us navigate modern life

by Sumit Paul-Choudhury

Photo of people in a sunny square with bikes and scooters, near Les Tontons and a large building advertisement in Bordeaux.

Stories and literature

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Your life is not a story: why narrative thinking holds you back

Our stories help us make sense of a chaotic world, but they can be harmful and restrictive. There’s a liberating alternative

by Karen Simecek

Ancient Greek marble relief showing three figures in a carved scene.

Rituals and celebrations

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For Plato, rationalists and mystics can walk the same path

Why did such a keen proponent of reason turn to the Eleusinian Mysteries to explain his ideas about knowledge?

by Sam Woodward

Black and white photo of two men in overalls standing before large industrial gears, each scratching his head.

Freedom and choice

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Why Charlie Chaplin was an ‘angel of peace’ for Walter Benjamin

Though a tramp and a misfit, Chaplin’s world fit him like a glove. His life of contingency appealed to the émigré Benjamin

by Eli Friedlander

Photo of a man in a grey jumper standing on a balcony with a view of a city skyline featuring iconic skyscrapers.

Thinkers and theories

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Why I’ll never forget the day I met Daniel Kahneman for lunch

He was an octogenarian Nobel-winning psychologist, I was a nervous 20-something film producer. Here’s what struck me most

by Namir Khaliq

Photo of a girl sitting at a wooden desk with a cat, lit by sunlight through a window.

Psychoanalysis and the unconscious

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Three ways to get in touch with your Shadow self

Jung believed we all have a Shadow self. Facing up to it could help you live more fully and be more forgiving of others

by Ruth Williams

Black and white photo of a person and a dog standing apart on a wet beach with waves in the background.

Thinking and intelligence

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Philosophical reflection often begins with a disruptive mood

For many of our greatest philosophers, it was their moods, from wonder to estrangement to anxiety, that first inspired them

by Steven Segal

Dance

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How dance taught me to embrace my deformity

In the raw style of Tanztheater, I found a way to take my poetry into the physical world and express myself authentically

by Billy Gigurtsis