One classic philosophical dispute is the battle over innate ideas. An innate idea, as the name suggests, is not acquired by experience but is somehow “built into” the mind. Philosophers who accept innate ideas differ about their nature and content. Leibniz, for example, sees God as the creator innate ideas that exist within the monads….
“Cultivating a questioning mind, of which conversation is the chief instrument, enriches our relationship with the world.” We are each born with a wilderness of possibility within us. Who we become depends on how we tend to our inner garden — what qualities of character and spirit we cultivate to come abloom, what follies we…
Influencers can make ideas visible, but they can also trap them inside social bubbles. Real change happens when an idea leaves the bubble and becomes part of everyday life. Influencers have become one of the newest forms of propaganda and marketing in the 21st century. Want to spread an idea, sell a product, or launch…
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” -Mark Twain Most people think of purpose as a nice bonus in life. Research suggests it’s much more than that. Purpose Is Good for Your Health Studies have found that people with a strong…
What is alcohol? Alcohol is a small, simple molecule that moves quickly through almost every part of the body once it’s consumed. Shortly after consumption, alcohol levels increase in the brain, and signs of intoxication follow. Your Brain on Alcohol Alcohol slows brain activity by increasing the effects of GABA, the brain’s primary inhibitory neurotransmitter,…
“Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” “Poetry can break open locked chambers of possibility, restore numbed zones to feeling, recharge desire,” Adrienne Rich wrote in contemplating what poetry does. “Insofar as poetry has a social function it is to awaken sleepers by other means than shock,” Denise Levertov asserted in her piercing statement…
“Let me not seem to have lived in vain,” the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe whispered on his deathbed, not realizing that the astronomical tables he was leaving behind would become the portal through which Kepler arrives at the laws of planetary motion; not realizing that the measure of an unwasted life is not what outlives…
Guest Post: Willpower in Recovery A person can deeply want recovery and still feel confused by their own behavior. They may wonder why they keep failing even though they truly want to change. In my work with clients, I often find that relapse makes more sense when we slow down what happened hours and days…
