Showing 254 articles
All the Time in the World
Author: Sivan BarzilayDecember 27, 2020
For many of us who live in big cities, Time is something we always lack. We find ourselves struggling to reach places on time, to submit our work on time, to wake up on time, and the list can go on and on… If only someone could give us a little more time to complete [...]
Ubuntu: I Am Because We Are
Author: Manjula NanavatiDecember 27, 2020
One of the foundations of how we conceptualize our sense of self today, perhaps came from the 17th century philosopher Rene Descartes’ most famous maxim, cogito ergo sum or I think therefore I am. Taken to an extreme that Descartes himself may never have meant, we are conditioned to prioritize self-interest, applaud the pursuit of [...]
Courage to Be A Daily Hero
Author: Vasant Sanzgiri & Samarth ShettyDecember 27, 2020
The word ‘hero’ comes from an ancient Greek root, which literally translates to ‘protector’ or ‘defender’. Dictionary.com defines the word as “a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character”, and popular perception recognizes a hero as one who performs deeds that are not commonly possible, or one who exhibits virtues or values that makes them [...]
It’s Not About Producing Antibodies
Author: Delia Steinberg GuzmánDecember 9, 2020
We live in a polluted world, and we have become used to it. The level of environmental pollution, especially in large cities, increases day by day, but because we cannot abandon them as our obligations are still anchored there, we have simply adapted to this situation. Our bodies have produced antibodies, and almost naturally, we [...]
The Rise and Fall of Mayan Civilization
Author: NA El SalvadorDecember 9, 2020
The people of Mayan society built large cities, sumptuous temples, and towering pyramids. At its peak, around 900 AD, the population was estimated at about 200 people per Sq km in rural areas, and more than 800 people per sq km in cities (comparable to the modern Los Angeles County). This vibrant “Classic Period” of [...]
The Ancient City of Alexandria
Author: Nataliya PetlevychNovember 19, 2020
Once there was a city known as “the greatest emporium in the whole world” (Strabo, Geography). For generation after generation it attracted the finest scholars, philosophers, poets and inventors. It was a truly international centre that brought together Egyptians, Greeks and Jews, as well as Babylonians, Persians, Gauls, Phoenicians and Romans. In a spirit of [...]
The Politicization of Spirituality
Author: Sabine LeitnerNovember 19, 2020
Does a circle have sides? – Not really. We can ‘project’ sides onto it but the fact is that there are no sides, only a circumference on which every single point has the same distance to the centre. Is spirituality left or right wing? Well, I also don’t think that it makes sense to ‘project’ [...]
The Choices We Make
Author: Angela DiacoOctober 16, 2020
The end of a decade approaches. For those who choose to acknowledge that a much larger cycle is coming to a close, the next few days are charged for reflection. Philosophers have always asked: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? It’s important that we continually ask these questions and [...]
A Diary of a Struggling Ecologist
Author: Ubai HuseinOctober 14, 2020
This journey started with my love for food, which prompted me to pursue a degree in Culinary Arts. There, in addition to simply cooking, I was introduced to the various aspects about growing and producing food before it enters the kitchen, including the entire mechanism of factory farming and the resulting destruction caused to the [...]
Living the Samurai Myth
Author: Shraddha ShettyOctober 14, 2020
The word Samurai originally meant ‘those who serve’, although individuals of this elite warrior class in medieval Japan were also referred to as Bushi, or warrior. And Bushido was the code of morality which the Samurai were meant to follow, not just in battle, but also in day-to-day activity. Speaking of this code in his [...]
Why Philosophy Matters in Times of Crisis
Author: Sabine LeitnerOctober 1, 2020
We seem to be living more and more in times of permanent crisis: terrorism, armed conflicts, unprecedented waves of desperate refugees, crises in practically every field of public life, including financial and economic, environmental, political, cultural, educational, institutional, (mental) health, etc. There is hardly any area which is not affected by some crisis in one [...]
Terra Preta, the Black Earth upon which Civilisations were Built
Author: Gareth KinsellaJuly 30, 2020
“Agriculture is the noblest of all alchemy; for it turns the earth, and even manure, into gold, conferring upon its cultivator the additional reward of health.” – Hebrew proverb In 1542, a Spanish conquistador named Francisco de Orellana set sail along the Amazon river with a group of his fellow countrymen, looking high and low [...]