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Aristotle

Everybody Say 'OPA!'

Alex Pattakos | Posted 05.17.2013 | Healthy Living
Alex Pattakos

The notion of the "good life" can be viewed as the human quest for meaning, a formidable challenge that involves both making a living and making a life that really matters, that has significance.

The Old And New Celebrity Cast Behind New Release CLONED

Leora Novick | Posted 04.15.2013 | Celebrity
Leora Novick

With a blend of backgrounds and ages, the cast of CLONED successfully narrates this camping trip gone bad thriller, adding moments of fear and anticipation as the truth behind Tupper Island unfolds.

The Lax Logic of Libertarians

Jag Bhalla | Posted 04.12.2013 | Politics
Jag Bhalla

Crucial questions are misframed by pitting J.S. Mill and free-market libertarian faith against Mayor Bloomberg, reason and experience.

Satire Is the Best Revenge

David Misch | Posted 04.01.2013 | Comedy
David Misch

Not just satire but comedy itself begins with mocking. Plato and Aristotle said all laughter was wrong because comedy is inherently cruel (something many people still believe, especially me when I think about Ken Magnuson in 8th grade gym class).

Is Bitcoin Money?

Max Keiser | Posted 05.14.2013 | Business
Max Keiser

Since Bitcoin is now a $400 million market, with its pricehitting new all-time highs, now might be good time to ask, is bitcoin money?

Choose Your Favorite Philosopher

Nick Kolakowski | Posted 04.30.2013 | Books
Nick Kolakowski

Aristotle: This ancient Greek philosopher argued for the primacy of rational thought over animal instincts, and moderation over hedonism. Ideal for: Drivers who slow at yellow lights.

An Iron-Clad Proof Of God

Rabbi Adam Jacobs | Posted 03.30.2013 | Religion
Rabbi Adam Jacobs

It seems to me that an open-minded thinker, free of biases and misconceptions, would have no choice but to acknowledge the veracity of this argument. When properly understood, it is simple, direct -- and tough to refute. Why then does it seem to have so few backers?

You've Got a Friend

Judith Greenberg, Ph.D. | Posted 03.18.2013 | Women
Judith Greenberg, Ph.D.

No photo, witty posting or apt political cartoon can match sitting on a park bench with a friend. No amount of clicking "like" stands in for keeping me company before a scary mammogram. Friends take that seat next to you so you don't sit alone.

The Science Of Happiness

Meghan Keener | Posted 03.10.2013 | Healthy Living
Meghan Keener

The field of positive psychology operates from the premise that we ought to acknowledge both the light and the dark sides of life. It focuses on positive elements of life such as character strengths, positive emotion, resilience, purpose, positive relationships, and creative achievement.

To Be Happy, Be Grateful

Michael Shammas | Posted 03.09.2013 | Good News
Michael Shammas

Because of this up-and-down nature of happiness, I've recently been pondering how one can attain true happiness -- constant happiness.

For a Better Society, Teach Philosophy in High Schools

Michael Shammas | Posted 02.25.2013 | College
Michael Shammas

Why philosophy? Because the study of philosophy, the "love of wisdom," creates and nurtures thoughtful minds, minds that can -- as Aristotle suggests -- entertain a thought without accepting it.

Negative Ads vs. Aristotle

Jonathan Haber | Posted 02.12.2013 | Politics
Jonathan Haber

Proving that an argument is invalid (ideally by showing that it ends in a logical contradiction) is one of the most effective ways to destroy an opponent's case.

The Plot Thins: Mythos in Movies

Jon Eig | Posted 02.09.2013 | Entertainment
Jon Eig

I've come to decide that Aristotle was a pretty smart guy and that plot, in both content and structure, matters quite a bit. I've also come to decide that we live in an age where plots have been greatly degraded.

Critical Thinking: How Long Does it Take?

Jonathan Haber | Posted 01.29.2013 | Home
Jonathan Haber

Far from being some form of esoteric knowledge, critical thinking turns out to be one of the more easy-to-learn and pragmatic skills available to all. Or at least all those willing to put in the reasonable amount of work needed to achieve success.

Is Human Intellect on the Downward Slide?

Rob Brooks | Posted 01.20.2013 | Science
Rob Brooks

Humans are complex animals. Our intelligence is a complex adaptation. And the diverse and surprising ways in which we use it today suggest that we owe it to more than a handful of simplistic evolutionary scenarios.

How Free Access to Big Data Could Change Future Elections

Turnstyle | Posted 01.06.2013 | Technology
Turnstyle

By Noah J. Nelson We've heard a lot about Big Data this election cycle. The Obama campaign alone stated that they contacted one out of every 2.5 vo...

Uncommon Sense: Self-Driving Cars and Books That Write Themselves

Michael Sigman | Posted 12.26.2012 | Comedy
Michael Sigman

A webzine recently asked me to write 100 words on the question, "If you had to choose between blindness and deafness, which sense would you keep?" I gave them one word: "common."

Aristotle's Strategy for Obama

Lex Paulson | Posted 12.17.2012 | Politics
Lex Paulson

You have 20 days left in this race. To win the election, you're going to have to trade your philosopher's toga for a warrior's sword. Last night proved you're willing to pick up your sword. I'm here to tell you how you take away Mitt Romney's.

CRAP

Paula Gordon | Posted 12.01.2012 | Politics
Paula Gordon

If we won't let our children lie or BS us and get away with it, surely Republicans should be held to the same standard. Cow dung has good uses, but not in political campaigns. Cut the CRAP.

It's Time for 21st-century Citizenship

Ed Crego, George Muñoz and Frank Islam | Posted 11.17.2012 | Politics
Ed Crego, George Muñoz and Frank Islam

Which vision and version of citizenship is correct? The answer should be both. Early in this 21st century, however, where partisanship has been elevated to the new art of war it appears that neither may be.

Why Does the World Exist?

Glyn Vincent | Posted 10.28.2012 | Books
Glyn Vincent

In Jim Holt's lively, bestselling book, Why Does The World Exist?, the author informs us the very phrase, Big Bang, was coined by a cosmologist, Sir Fred Hoyle, who disagreed with the conception of a universe-creating explosion.

The Study of 'Meaning' in Contemporary Academia

Mark Schulman | Posted 10.06.2012 | College
Mark Schulman

"Meaning" had been expunged from mainstream scholarship for some time. Those attempts -- to take it out of research -- have been, in fact, counter-productive: meaning is very much at the center of the human experience.

The Two Faces of Facebook

Jeff DeGraff | Posted 08.26.2012 | Home
Jeff DeGraff

Technology will set you free to express the real you -- until you realize that reality places you in the inbox on your smartphone just like everyone else. No worries, its outsmarted most of us.

The "Wisdom" of Pearson's Pineapple Passage

Alan Singer | Posted 07.10.2012 | Home
Alan Singer

If Pearson and Merryl Tisch were teachers being evaluated based on lesson of the pineapple, hare, and owl, they would both be rated "Unsatisfactory."

Voice of the Hidden Waterfall

Tamsin Smith | Posted 07.07.2012 | Home
Tamsin Smith

When I hear Morten Lauridsen's choral composition, I sense a boundless beauty and tenderness within the nature of humankind. Here, there is no place for evil. Perhaps his music is even the wind that would bend us to be better.