Dystopias in literature
Author: Istvan OrbanMay 15, 2017
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin muzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.” In this sinister beginning we can recognize the first lines of the well-known [...]
The Book of the Dead
Author: Miha KosirMay 14, 2017
One thing we know for certain is that death is waiting for us all. Something so natural and irrefutable, but still how much do we understand what that really means? How we see death is how we understand life. Searching for those answers is a quest that has accompanied men and women since time immemorial. Most ancient traditions spoke of a journey in life, which would continue after the physical [...]
What we achieved, and what still remains…
Author: Gilad SommerMay 13, 2017
There are some who believe in the greatness of the past, in a golden age long passed, or simply in the “good old days”. Assumingly, in those days, people were good and honest, and virtue reigned the world. Therefore we need to go back to things as they were, or as we imagine they were. From this perspective every change is a step away from the glorious past and the ever important [...]
The Power of Life
Author: Natalya PetlevychMay 13, 2017
Spring gives us a unique opportunity to witness the immense power of life. Everything in nature awakens, opens up to the warmth of the sun and actively grows unfolding its potential. Observing nature I remembered the ancient Egyptian concept of “sekhem”, usually translated as “power”. It has several aspects of meaning, indicating power in action. On the one hand, it is the vital force [...]
The Industrial Revolutions
Author: Alfredo AguilarMay 13, 2017
We have all encountered, from our school days to the present day, all kind of references about the industrial revolution and how it changed life first in Britain and then in the whole world. A shift from an agricultural life to people migrating to live in the growing cities, in order to work in the newly created factories that the industrial revolution brought with it, resulting in a dramatic [...]
Ancient Technology
Author: Florimond KrinsMay 13, 2017
When looking at ancient archaeological features one can be mesmerised by the beauty, complexity and grandeur of some of the buildings, statues or artefacts. In most cases these structures were created at a time of prosperity when skills of a high standard and workforce were abundant. However, in the cases of the Old kingdom of ancient Egypt (2686 to 2134 BC), the Mayans, Easter Island or the [...]
Simone de Beauvoir: The Second Sex and its implications for human evolution.
Author: Siobhan FarrarMay 13, 2017
In her book The Second Sex, published in Paris in 1949, Simone de Beauvoir writes about the female ontological experience from her perspective as a female philosopher. By the term ‘female ontological experience’ is meant the experience of being a woman at the deepest level (from Gk. Ontos= Being). The result is an illuminating description of the particular problems that present themselves in [...]
Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages
Author: Julian ScottMay 13, 2017
The title of this article comes from a book by Umberto Eco, an Italian philosopher, essayist, professor of literature and novelist, most famous for his medieval whodunnit The Name of the Rose, which was made into a film starring Sean Connery. In this book, Eco introduces us to a culture very different from our own. Yet the principles contained in his study can enlighten us about the whole [...]
Empowering Real Change
Author: Purbasha GhoshMay 3, 2017
Few amongst us can deny a ubiquitous yearning for change - socially, politically, ecologically, spiritually and a myriad other dimensions. Unfortunately, this longing seldom manifests beyond vehemently voicing the already well-recognised need for change or deluging the social media space with our postulates of it. Real change, nevertheless, continues to elude us. Intimidated by the apparently [...]
The Constitution of the Human Being in the Eastern Tradition
Author: Agostino DominiciMay 1, 2017
In a previous article, I introduced the topic of the esoteric constitution of man and I looked at the Western tradition. In this article, I will look at the same topic but from the perspective of the Eastern tradition. I will introduce some of the Sufi, Hindu and Taoist classifications of man’s spiritual constituents. Before I start, let’s remember the fact that most of the concepts presented [...]
Open the Mind: Make the Best Ideas Ours
Author: Delia Steinberg GuzmánMay 1, 2017
Can we think absolutely by ourselves, without any influence? I think not, nobody can do that. But we can assimilate ideas of other people that align very well with our own and that we come to feel as decidedly ours. What we can do is internalize ideas, thoughts, beliefs that we feel are the ones that best fit us. In terms of convictions originality does not matter, to have a new idea never [...]
The Danger of ‘Historical Illiteracy’
Author: Sabine LeitnerApril 30, 2017
Studies in several countries have highlighted that there is growing ignorance and lack of interest amongst young people about even basic historic facts of fairly recent national history. Americans of all ages fail to answer simple questions like “Who won the Civil War” and “Who did we gain independence from?” One of the most frequent answers to these questions was: “I have no idea.” A [...]