Showing 569 articles
‘To be or not to be’ Today
Author: Ana Luisa LellisSeptember 8, 2023
‘To be or not to be, that is the question’. How many times have we heard, seen, or read this sentence? From Laurence Olivier to Bugs Bunny, so many have tried their hand at interpreting what is quite possibly the most famous soliloquy in literature. Hamlet’s themes, characters, and iconic lines have permeated various forms [...]
Metaphysical Goods
Author: Sabine LeitnerSeptember 8, 2023
It is easy to understand theoretically how the sound of a violin is produced. But it is very difficult to turn this intellectual understanding into the actual ability to play the violin well. Similarly, as humanity, we have already grasped many profound concepts a long time ago, but in some cases it has taken us [...]
The Mask, Unmasked
Author: Archana SamarthSeptember 8, 2023
Life is a mystery and in mysterious ways, invites us to unravel it . The Truth it guards so protectively is expressed in myriad symbolic forms, some of which have survived over centuries, civilizations, and cultures. For one who is on a philosophical adventure of seeking wisdom, these symbolic forms are a bridge to the [...]
The Science of Tomorrow: An Alliance of Reason and Spirituality
Author: Jean StauneSeptember 8, 2023
In view of what is happening today, it is possible that science may hold a less important place in the culture of tomorrow. Why? Because when science is called upon to express its view on certain subjects, it often adopts an excessively authoritarian tone. This uncompromising approach has discredited it in the eyes of public [...]
The Symbolic Dimension of Grimms’ Fairy Tales
Author: Ana Luisa LellisSeptember 8, 2023
“Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my childhood than in the truth that is taught by life.” Friedrich Schiller Over two hundred years ago, the brothers Grimm published the first edition of their “Children’s and Household Tales”.Little did they know how important their work would be and for how long [...]
Alchemy and its Mute Language
Author: Agostino DominiciSeptember 8, 2023
To spread and transmit its teachings, Western alchemy has often resorted to the visual arts, with their symbolic and imaginative language. This fact should not surprise us if we take into account that ‘working according to nature’ is the modus operandi of the alchemist. In other words, if one sets out to discover the hidden [...]
Tales from the Ramayana – The Abduction of Sita
Author: Miha KosirSeptember 8, 2023
In the world of literature there are a few well known epic stories in which the plot is built around the abduction of a woman. In the East one of them is the ancient Indian story of the Ramayana, and in the West, there is the ancient Greek story of the Iliad. These are not [...]
In Praise of Folly and Other Teachings of Erasmus
Author: Istvan OrbanSeptember 8, 2023
“We live in times when to speak endangers the body, but to remain silent endangers the soul” – Erasmus of Rotterdam Nowadays, Erasmus comes to our mind when we hear about the student exchange program of the European Union. The educational program was named after a Dutch Renaissance philosopher, Desiderius Erasmus, who was a great [...]
Growing Nihilism Among Young People
Author: Istvan OrbanSeptember 8, 2023
Nihilism is the viewpont or belief that things and life in general are meaningless. It comes from the Latin word nihil, which means ‘nothing’. Nihilism does not accept those moral and knowledge-based values that are owned by societies. Nihilism became known in the 18th century in Europe, when German writers and philosphers discussed the negation [...]
Fear and Courage
Author: Delia Steinberg GuzmánSeptember 8, 2023
That fear is the greatest adversary on the path of wisdom? We already knew that. But we have to experience it. Wisdom is not about filling our heads with ideas that are never applied (precisely because of fear or cowardice, or comfort, which is another form of fear and cowardice); wisdom is to learn to [...]
Humanity’s Relationship with Trees: A History of Climate Change
Author: Florimond KrinsSeptember 8, 2023
The notion of climate change is not as recent as it may seem. We can find its roots way back in the 15th century, a time of European explorers and ocean travels, opening new routes of communications with the Far East as well as discovering the so-called “New World”: the American continent. This continent, even [...]
The Moral Struggle
Author: Delia Steinberg GuzmánSeptember 8, 2023
The true philosopher should think of his struggle as a moral battle. The field of morality includes all those latent powers that are trying to emerge but are unable to do so, because they need our decisive and willing support. Morality is the sum of all our virtues, the combination of all our powers, active [...]