Showing 13 articles

What Has Philosophy Taught Me?

Author: Antonin Vinkler

May 14, 2023

Probably, all of us philosophers have to regularly answer questions such as – “What do you need this philosophy for?”. Today I am asking myself that same question – why do I need it in life? what has it taught me? And since it has taught me quite a few things, I will list some [...]

Symbolic Imagination and Magical Memory in the Philosophy of Giordano Bruno

Author: Julian Scott

January 26, 2023

Imagination is the faculty that allows us to form or see images in our minds. Using elements from the physical world, imagination allows us to transcend it and build ‘castles in the air’. But there is more to imagination than mere fantasy. It also allows us to perceive images which are the reflections of ideas. [...]

Other ways of “Thinking”

Author: Sabine Leitner

April 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 [...]

For Your Soul to Grow

Author: Jorge Angel Livraga

January 3, 2022

I am not referring to your Divine Spirit which, because it is so, can neither grow nor diminish, be born nor die, but to that higher part in us which we commonly call Soul. It is common knowledge that physical exercise, for example, develops muscles, and that any learning must be based on tenacity in [...]

The Magical Function of Rituals and Ceremonies

Author: Julian Scott

October 1, 2020

From an esoteric point of view, a ritual is dependent on the existence of the invisible dimension. This invisible dimension consists of a spiritual-mental aspect, which is the domain of the archetypes or ‘living idea-beings’ spoken of by the Platonists; and an ‘astral’ aspect, which is an intermediate world between spirit and matter, just as [...]

The Boring Tool

Author: Paul Savage

July 21, 2020

Boredom is something we are all familiar with, yet in our increasingly technology driven world, we are less and less able to engage with it and use this mental state as a means of creativity, learning and conscious development. We are all aware of that compulsion to turn to our phones as soon as we [...]

Stability in Crisis

Author: Delia Steinberg Guzmán

April 25, 2020

It might seem that the crisis which is shaking our present civilization throughout the world and on so many fronts is something typical of our time and of enormous magnitude. However, if we look carefully, we will find crises at any time in history, and we will discover that philosophers have always examined their deeper [...]

Glimpse into Tagore’s Legacy with Vandana Hazra (Event Synopsis)

Author: Manjula Nanavati

December 31, 2019

As a poet, musician, writer, artist and educationist, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore was a visionary polymath. His verses, stories and songs are simple and personal, yet elegant and profound. His lyrical style was capable of focusing a magnifying glass to capture nature’s minutest details, while also throwing a searchlight across the heavens to encompass vast, [...]

My Mind & I

Author: Sangeeta Iyer

July 29, 2018

Does my mind exist outside of me? Who am I really, if not my mind? Many of us have experienced the predicament of almost having a face-off within ourselves, as if there were two people debating within us; one of whom we eventually align with. Sometimes, we’re even surprised to find that our mind seems [...]

The Little Prince: A Journey Inwards

Author: Krutika Mehta

September 10, 2017

Most ancient traditions seem to share a dominant myth that revolves around a long and arduous journey with the hero facing danger or death, overcoming obstacles, before accomplishing his purposeful goal and returning home. Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, among others, viewed some of these heroes even as gods. Hercules and Arjuna are examples of [...]

Open the Mind: Make the Best Ideas Ours

Author: Delia Steinberg Guzmán

May 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 [...]

Growing in Memory and Imagination – a Revolution

Author: Delia Steinberg Guzmán

April 30, 2017

Even though we are separated by several centuries from the intellectual revolution initiated by Giordano Bruno, it is a revolution that it is still very interesting to join. It starts by increasing our memory, in other words, by knowing how to live. Instead of passing through life like a leaf on the wind, we can [...]