Showing 412 articles
The Gurukul Tradition of Ancient India
Author: Manjula NanavatiMay 25, 2022
Indian philosophy holds that the universe is not confined to what is apparent to our sense perceptions, and that the Ultimate Reality is veiled from us, by a curtain that maroons us in ignorance and illusion. Accordingly, the main purpose of education in ancient India was to pierce this curtain in order to experience the [...]
Philosophy of Education
Author: Julian ScottMay 25, 2022
Napoleon once declared, “Of all political questions, education is perhaps the most important.” Undoubtedly, education is important from a political perspective because it has a major effect on the development of the citizen. But what about its value for the individual? Perhaps both of these facets are equally important and, as Aristotle pointed out, ethics [...]
The Study of (Western) Esotericism
Author: Agostino DominiciMay 16, 2022
We live in the so called Information Age in which any kind of knowledge is at our fingertips. Topics which fall under the categories of ‘esoteric’, ‘metaphysical’ or ‘occult’ have never been easier to reach. Hundreds of research papers on these topics can be freely downloaded on various online platforms (e.g. www.academia.edu), while thousands of [...]
The Educational Value of Folk Tales
Author: Pinar AkhanApril 30, 2022
It is now a well-known fact that reading or telling stories to children starting from a young age has many developmental benefits. Just to name a few: stories can help to improve language and communication skills, develop the child’s brain with the ability to focus, help with associating and expressing their feelings, learning about the [...]
Philosophy and Astronomy – The Invisible Link
Author: Maria Ines GomesApril 21, 2022
This article has not been written as a treatise about Astronomy neither about Philosophy. This is only an effort to show how the study of the planetary system can be related with human life. Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Mankind, since he acquired consciousness, realized that there is a world of changes, sensations, [...]
The Gothic Cathedral : A Vessel of Light on Earth
Author: Florimond KrinsApril 18, 2022
The Gothic period started at the beginning of the 12th century – in 1128, to be precise – when 9 knights came back from Jerusalem after spending 10 years in the Temple of Solomon. They were the first Knights Templar (from the Temple of Solomon). From that moment, in France and all over Europe, Gothic [...]
Iconology, the Magical World of Emblems
Author: Istvan OrbanApril 18, 2022
Iconology uses images and symbols to express a meaning or an idea. For many centuries, it helped to transmit religious and philosophical messages in an artistic way, when film or photography did not exist. Iconology is closely connected to iconography, which on the one hand is a branch of art history researching the interpretation of [...]
Other ways of “Thinking”
Author: Sabine LeitnerApril 18, 2022
In recent years, philosophy has become more popular as a school subject because of its usefulness for teaching logic and reasoning. In some cases, the subject of philosophy has become almost completely reduced to the sole purpose of ‘critical thinking’. Which is quite funny because, apparently (according to AskPhilosophy), philosophy had previously been avoided in [...]
Thought Forms
Author: Julian ScottApril 18, 2022
What is thought? From a materialistic point of view it is just an accidental result of biological evolution, the reaction of the brain to certain stimuli from the environment. But for many thinkers, such an explanation is inadequate, in view of the immense richness and complexity of human thought. An alternative explanation of the mysteries [...]
The Myth of Atlantis and the Universal Flood
Author: Antonio BeldaApril 18, 2022
The myth of Atlantis is one of the most famous and controversial myths of all time. Ever since the myth began – with the Greek philosopher Plato – people have been asking whether or not his story of a sunken continent was a historical fact. It is fair to assume that Plato did intend his [...]
The Way of the Warrior – Embracing the ‘Inner Battle’
Author: Agostino DominiciApril 18, 2022
I am imagining depicted on a Renaissance tapestry the scene of a ‘battle’. This tapestry is woven together by four threads or themes: war (and the warrior), initiation, Kali Yuga and askesis. War and the warrior Since the beginning of recorded history the theme of war has always occupied an important place in the minds [...]
How do we know what we (think) we know?
Author: Florimond KrinsApril 18, 2022
This is a question that Etienne Klein asked his students when they were mocking people who thought the earth was flat. We know that the earth is round, an almost perfect sphere, it is a scientific fact. And it is easier to say that now as we have been to space and seen it. It [...]