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Civic life

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Close-up of a stone sculpture of a man’s face with detailed features, set against a plain background. The expression appears solemn.

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

A man wearing a face mask and gloves crossing the road carrying three large bags filled with plastic bottles.

Civic life

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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

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

Human nature

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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

Black-and-white photo of two men in hats conversing on a street, one very tall, the other short, with onlookers nearby.

Virtues and vices

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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

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.

Values and beliefs

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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.

Nature and the environment

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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 painting of a distressed, partially nude woman overlooked by two older men in red and black robes who are whispering to each other.

Artists and art history

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What art history reveals about the rise of anti-feminist women

How can anyone favour a patriarchal system that routinely harms them? On Susanna and the Elders and anti-feminist women

by Paula Keller

Black-and-white photo of a man in overalls stirring liquid in a large industrial vat with gauges and pipes in the background.

Ethics

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On the moral obligation to stop shit-stirring

Utilitarians provoke to elicit reflection, but we need earnest advice, not shit-stirring, to face complex moral challenges

by Nicholas Agar

Sepia-toned vintage portrait of a man in a suit, looking to the right, with sideburns and neatly combed hair.

Civic life

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Ralph Waldo Emerson would really hate your Twitter feed

For Ralph Waldo Emerson, political activism was full of empty gestures done in bad faith. Abolition called for true heroism

by Peter Wirzbicki

Painting of soft blue and white ocean waves on a sandy shore with a misty sky in the background, in a minimalist style.

Emotion regulation

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To heal emotional inflammation, let distress inspire change

To tend to the wound of emotional inflammation, connect with your feelings, look to the sky, then give back to the world

by Stacey Colino & Lise Van Susteren

A mother cuddles her newborn baby on a bed. The baby is wrapped in a white knitted blanket.

Communication and language

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Facts don’t change minds: a case for the virtues of propaganda

A better understanding of propaganda and how to use it as an educational tool could advance the world in a positive way

by Anna Hennessey

Dance

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Lockdown dancing is both a solo conversation and a mass grieving

As both Martha Graham and Hannah Arendt knew, being alone – in dance or in conversation – is a way to explore connection

by Dana Naomy Mills