Down to earth
For philosopher Costica Bradatan, failure delivers self-knowledge in a way that success cannot.
Kierkegaard’s Journals and Notebooks
When I learned there was a plan to translate the complete edition of Kierkegaard's journals and notebooks, I was dubious as to the need. I was dead wrong.
The Deepest Human Life, by Scott Samuelson
The Deepest Human Life is an elegantly written, impassioned, and sometimes disjointed plea on behalf of philosophy. Scott Samuelson invokes poets, novelists, and theologians to defend the dialectical process that Socrates imparted.
Stay, by Jennifer Michael Hecht
Most moral arguments against suicide are built on premises of faith. But Jennifer Hecht, a poet and first-rate historian of ideas, is intent on providing secular reasons for refraining from it.
Kierkegaard, edited and translated by Alastair Hannay
Many of the readers who flock to Søren Kierkegaard are members of the philosophy guild....
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
Aristotle famously asserted, “Philosophy begins in wonder.” Sometimes I wonder about that....
Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy
In 1621 Robert Burton published The Anatomy of Melancholy, and now, nearly 400 years later, Eric Wilson has given us what amount...
Overcoming Life's Disappointments
Joy and gratitude are the subjects of many popular books. There are workshops on grief and anger and a library of literature on depression....
Not in our backyard: Means and ends in Iraq
Philosopher Immanuel Kant argued that it is always wrong to treat a person or a people purely as a means to an end....
Back Pages
Doink! A neighborhood kid kicked a ball that nearly punched out my kitchen window....
Sidelined: Life after football
In April the NFL will bless about 250 draftees with a professional contract; the rest will be cleaning out their identities along with their lockers as they make a sharp turn out of football into n...
Job on Prozac: The pharmaceutical option
In the biblical story, God tests his faithful servant Job to see whether Job will stay devoted to God even if God takes everything away from him....
Leap of love: Kierkegaard on regard for enemies
There are serious obstacles to making the spiritual adjustment required to presuppose love.
Remote control: The ethics of watching
A century ago the bone weary must have come home from their labors and relaxed by watching the flames dancing in the hearth....