ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

IDEAS

The Essential Philosophical Question: Have Philosophers Lost Their Way?

Today, few philosophers believe philosophy is a way of life, let alone the fullest and most complete way of life. Or if they do believe it, they won’t admit it in public. - 3 Quarks Daily

A Hard Truth? Democracies Aren’t Up To Big Challenges Like Climate Change

 The common theme in all these accounts is that the public are not to be trusted – they do not understand, or care; they are too selfish, or too shortsighted. Better to let the experts decide. - The Guardian

A Book That Promises To Challenge Everything We Think We Know About Human History

“There’s a whole new picture of the human past and human possibility that seems to be coming into view. And it really doesn’t resemble in the slightest these very entrenched stories going around and around.” - The New York Times

Why The Aspen Ideas Festival Is A Bad One (Idea, That Is)

If we’re to have ideas, let’s have fewer ideas, better ideas, and ideas more likely to annoy the sort of people who bankroll Ideas conferences. - The New Republic

Who Said Tech Had To Look So Bland?

"I’m tired of tech that caters to the heterosexual, cisgender, male, white, wealthy masses. I’m tired of AirSpace, of minimalism, of bland beige tones. ... Where is the bold, bright tech that allows me to be unapologetically myself?" - Wired

The Power – And Virtue – Of Hateful Characters

Oh, it's a joy to hate the Roys on Succession. How refreshing! "Likeability is an odd requirement, as well as a sterile and stifling one. ... Unpunished, remorseless wickedness—like the Roys’—is becoming a no-no." - The Economist

There’s An Explanation For Why Some People Loathe Specific Celebrities

Honestly, you might think, who cares about James Corden or Nicki Minaj? Some people really care, and frankly, it's a little scary. "Fan culture, of course, goes back hundreds of years – but mass media has warped the obsession into something much larger." - USA Today

How The Humanities Make Better Thinkers

Henry Adams once wrote that “nothing in education is more astonishing than the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts.” Literature shows us how to animate facts, and still more how to make them cooperate, to work and dance together toward revelation. - The American Scholar

Will Workers Return To The Office? This Expert Says No

My prediction? Absolutely not. If companies make employees who can do their jobs at home go into the office, it will be harder for them to hire, and other companies will benefit. - Washington Post

Seven Rules For The Culture Wars

In culture wars, both sides like to refer to self-evident sources of ‘the truth’ – such that ‘every sensible person must surely be able to recognize’. But... the formerly reliable solid ground is being replaced by quicksand. - Eurozine

Study: Sell An Idea By Focusing On “Why” Or “How”?

Should she focus on why her idea is useful or should she instead promote a more concrete focus on how the idea works when pitching to an audience of investors? - Harvard Business Review

Why Reading Is No Substitute For Travel

Although reading affords a way of learning about the world, it cannot transmit the richness of sensory experience. Can reading about a glacier convey its cracks or fizzles, the strata of blues at its core? - Psyche

The Personal Cost Of The Noise Around Us

According to the World Health Organization, noise exposure and its secondary outcomes such as hypertension and reduced cognitive performance are estimated to account for an astounding number of years lost due to ill health, disability, or early death. - Nautilus

Why Has Gender Become So Contentious Worldwide?

The attacks on so-called “gender ideology” have grown in recent years throughout the world, dominating public debate stoked by electronic networks and backed by extensive rightwing Catholic and evangelical organizations. - The Guardian

How Conspiracy Theories Work

“In folklore, we have this law of self-correction. So if something doesn’t quite fit, you go back to the way you heard it from 15 other people. I might be saying Jeff Bezos. But if three other people are saying Bill Gates, it’s going to be Bill Gates.” - The Guardian

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss

function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');