Karl Jaspers: Philosopher of Otherness
Author:August 16, 2017
The biography of Karl Jaspers gives an indication of the immense scope of his work. He began by studying law, then moved on to medicine, becoming a doctor specialising in psychiatry, and finally ended up as a professor of philosophy at the University of Heidelberg. One of his first works was entitled Psychology of World Views (1919). In it he put forward the theory that all world views [...]
Social business, a new way to end poverty
Author: James Chan-LeeAugust 16, 2017
Not withstanding decades of foreign aid, in 2016 1.2 billion persons still suffered from hunger, privation and ignorance. To escape the trap of ‘dead aid’, Muhammad Yunus (Nobel Peace Prize 2006) and other idealists have created ‘social enterprises’ to help the poor escape poverty through dignity, social solidarity and fraternity. Despite the teachings of Plato and Confucius, the [...]
The Challenge of Change
Author: Gilad SommerJune 29, 2017
You Cannot Step Into the Same River Twice" - Heraclitus One of our main challenges as human beings is to grasp the continuous and constant change everything goes through. Everything evolves. Some things change more slowly, others more quickly, but nothing remains the same, even for one second. People change, society changes, the world changes. Our political reality, for example, [...]
Yearning for Change
Author: Yaron BarzilayJune 25, 2017
There are many in the world today who are yearning for change. They want to see the world change, to become capable of addressing the current burning issues; capable not only of spotting the problems, but also to offer valid solutions and, above all, to materialize them. It really doesn’t take much to list the main issues the world at large is facing - today, and those which we may face very [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]