Sam Dresser
Sam has been with Aeon since its launch in 2012. He’s most interested in how to do philosophy and in the continental/analytic divide. History and politics are also amusing to him. He considers Evelyn Waugh to be a very funny writer and enjoys pubs more than he should.
Written by Sam Dresser
Virtues and vices
guide
How to think about pleasure
Weirdly hard to define, much less to feel OK about it, pleasure is a tricky creature. Can philosophy help us lighten up?
by Sam Dresser
Death and dying
guide
How to not fear your death
You exist, but one day you won’t. An Epicurean perspective can help you feel less afraid, and even grateful for life’s finitude
by Sam Dresser
Edited by Sam Dresser
Ethics
guide
How to think about ethical dilemmas
Learning about ethical theories won’t give you easy answers, but will increase your confidence in how you choose to live
by Timm Triplett
The self
idea
When Nietzsche said ‘become who you are’, this is what he meant
Behind the philosopher’s cryptic phrase is an invocation to sculpt your ideal self out of the hard stone of your psyche
by Ryan A Bush
Emotion regulation
idea
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
Thinkers and theories
idea
Learning to be a loser: a philosopher’s case for doing nothing
For Emil Cioran, a life devoid of action, practical ambitions and busyness is a life in which room has been made for meaning
by Costica Bradatan
Change and self-development
idea
The cult of being confident and why it doesn’t help women
By making women solely responsible for their own empowerment, the culture of confidence masks the true causes of inequality
by Rosalind Gill & Shani Orgad
Death and dying
idea
I thought I knew everything about death. Then grief struck me
Even though I grew up in Death World, and still live there, it couldn’t prepare me for being my family’s sole survivor
by John Troyer
Learning and education
idea
Perplexed? Embrace it! Confusion is a symptom of learning
Perplexed? Embrace it! Confusion is a sign of learning, but the key is finding the sweet spot of productive confusion
by Juliette Vazard
Thinkers and theories
idea
For Nietzsche, nihilism goes deeper than ‘life is pointless’
For Friedrich Nietzsche, nihilism is a terrible psychological problem – a coping mechanism with deadly consequences
by Kaitlyn Creasy
Imagination
idea
In the architecture of the mind, where lies human imagination?
In the architecture of the mind, is imagination a built-in structural feature or a result of cognitive remodelling work?
by Michael Omoge
Emotions
idea
What it means for something to ‘sink in’ emotionally
The impact of important events is more than an emotion or mood – it must ‘sink in’, which is a process that unfolds in time
by Matthew Ratcliffe
Meaning and the good life
guide
How to live like an Epicurean
Forget shallow hedonism. Follow this philosophy for wondrous, unexpected joys and resilience against inevitable misfortune
by Emily Austin
History of ideas
idea
How the ancient philosophers imagined the end of the world
How the ancient Greeks and Romans imagined the end of the world, and what we can learn from them today about catastrophe
by Christopher Star