That I Might Be Seen

That I Might Be Seen

The hard conversation with a loved one comes to an impasse. A welter of feelings resolves into one overriding pain: I don’t feel seen. In the end the greatest suffering is to be, or feel, alone. And to feel unseen is the very heart of loneliness. Josef Pieper...
Philosopher Parents, Not Kings

Philosopher Parents, Not Kings

The term ‘philosopher kings’ sticks in the head of students of ancient philosophy. In Plato’s Republic Socrates memorably asserts that “until philosophers take control of a city, there’ll be no respite from evil for either city or citizens…” Plato’s assertion here has...
Nature: What It Takes for Us to Notice

Nature: What It Takes for Us to Notice

“Of things that exist, some exist by nature, some from other causes.” Aristotle, Physics Why is it that we tend to appreciate less and less that which we see often? Herein is surely one of the great banes and challenges of human life. We grow used to things. There is...
Desire Not in Vain

Desire Not in Vain

“Our (natural) desire cannot be empty and vain.” Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle has a remarkable sense of the human drama, of the gift and the challenge it is to be human. Not that the style or voice of his writing is itself dramatic. But if we look through...

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