Solitude of the Leader
Author: Rahil MehtaSeptember 30, 2018
“It’s lonely at the top,” said a school-friend in jest on the eve of a school election for which I was nominated. And although I do not know to whom this titbit of wisdom is attributed, I have often contemplated the truth behind these words. In aspiring for the post or role of a leader, [...]
The Power of the Photograph
Author: Tom MoranJune 3, 2018
Photography is a process of image-making that is less than 200 years old, yet at the time of its invention, no one could have imagined the impact it would have on the global population, becoming a form of communication that could rival the English Language for its universality. What is it that obsesses us about [...]
Empowering Real Change: Philosophy & Art Panel Discussion on World Philosophy Day 2017
Author: Compiled by Harianto H MehtaJanuary 21, 2018
For New Acropolis members across the globe, every day in a way, is World Philosophy Day. Through history, classical traditions have employed philosophy as the central axis of education, recognizing the pivotal role of wisdom and ethics, in the formation of human civilization. Therefore, we mark the special opportunity of UNESCO’s annual endorsement of World [...]
Ulysses: The Mission to Return Home
Author: Sivan BarzilayApril 17, 2017
Are you familiar with those moments when it seems that life is talking to you, sending you some message, a direction? In the beginning, it might not seem very clear but with some extra observation and deeper investigation you become able to view the connection. And so, a few weeks ago, the name Ulysses came [...]
Volunteering for True Change
Author: Trishya ScrewvalaSeptember 23, 2016
Winston Churchill famously said, “We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give”. When we speak of volunteering today, we often think of people who have “more”, an abundance of knowledge or resources, sharing with those who we consider to have “less”. However, if we look at [...]
Initiation and Shamanism
Author: Istvan OrbanAugust 22, 2016
According to Mircea Eliade, the philosopher and historian of religion, shamanism is a technique of religious ecstasy. The word shaman is probably derived from the Tungusic root saman, which means ‘knowing’. What does the shaman know? Basically, shamans are priests, medicine men, singers, dancers, drummers, and they have many other skills as well; but what [...]
Revival of the Renaissance
Author: Yaron BarzilayJanuary 20, 2016
Philosophy is an approach to life, a search for a way to try to live a little bit better, a little bit truer, everyday. But by what moral standards should we judge our actions? There is a difference between being immoral, and being amoral. Amoral means that there is no recognition of right and wrong [...]
The Best Changes Start With Ourselves
Author: Delia Steinberg GuzmánJune 13, 2015
There is no point in compiling yet again a list of the situations afflicting everyone all over the world, because the media have already taken it upon themselves to broadcast them, and because, by repeating them, we only make the evils bigger without finding solutions. What is most striking is the general way of approaching [...]
Can the End Really Justify the Means?
Author: Yaron BarzilayApril 20, 2015
Often when we come across this phrase, it is meant to emphasise the importance of bottom line results, disregarding the means used to achieve them, as if the path of our actions isn’t important at all; only the outcome is. Sometimes it is used in order to justify an unethical act with regards to a [...]
Celebrating 2400 Years of Plato’s Academy
Author: Yaron BarzilayMay 13, 2014
The year 2013 marks 2,400 years since Plato established his Academy in Athens. Founded in 387BC, the Academy has continuously influenced humanity since inception, be it the Mediterranean Civilizations, numerous western philosophers including the renaissance men (who referred to Plato as a divine philosopher,) to our modern world of today, in which Plato’s teachings still [...]
The Inner Gold of the Alchemists
Author: Julian ScottMay 12, 2014
Alchemy seems to be an almost universal science. Not only do we find it in Medieval Europe, but also in China and India, amongst other places. This is perhaps because it is not just a primitive forerunner of modern chemistry, but a sacred science in its own right, which was studied wherever esoteric knowledge has [...]
Pay it forward
Author: AnonymousApril 1, 2014
Release year: 2000 Duration: 123 minutes Movie category: Drama, Romance Director: Mimi Leder Writers: Catherine Ryan Hyde (book), Leslie Dixon (screenplay) Main actors: Kevin Spacey, Haley Joel Osment and Helen Hunt Life lessons from an 11-year old boy! At the beginning of the school year, a teacher writes an exercise on the blackboard. “Think of [...]