Tag: Philosophy
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The Universe ‘I’s: Alan Watts on Death, Consciousness, and Being
Isn’t it remarkable that from the vast nothingness of what you don’t remember—your past before memory, before birth—you find yourself here, alive, conscious, watching, listening, being? Alan Watts, in one of his most haunting and poetic monologues, delves deep into the mystery that most people avoid thinking about: death. But rather than fear it, deny…
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Having vs. Being: A Life-Changing Choice We Don’t Even Realize We’re Making
What if the biggest mistake we’re making in life is not about what we do—but how we exist? In To Have or To Be?, Erich Fromm draws a sharp line between two modes of living that shape our personalities, our relationships, and even our entire culture: the having mode and the being mode. These aren’t just philosophical abstractions—they’re practical, day-to-day…
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The Beautiful Trouble of Raising a Human
Parenting is not a profession, a project, or a plan—it’s a wild, messy, magical relationship. From the moment a child is born, a parent is thrown into a lifetime of balancing joy and frustration, love and fatigue, laughter and tears. It is both the hardest and most rewarding journey a person can embark on. And…
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The Journey Is All There Is: Naval Ravikant on Time, Happiness, and Success
Part 2: In a deeply reflective conversation, entrepreneur and philosopher Naval Ravikant sits down with Chris to dissect the complex interplay between time, happiness, success, suffering, and fame. It’s not a motivational soundbite session, but rather an honest, often self-revealing discussion on how to live a good life—not just by chasing goals, but by understanding…
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The Everyday Science of Meaning in Life
For as long as humans have reflected on their existence, the question of life’s meaning has hovered at the edges of philosophy, religion, and literature. Is life meaningful? And if so, how and why? While these questions may sound like the domain of poets and mystics, modern psychology has quietly built a robust science around…
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How Do We Measure the Meaning of Life?
What makes life feel meaningful? Is it having a clear sense of purpose, achieving personal goals, living according to one’s principles, or perhaps feeling that life itself is inherently valuable? For decades, philosophers and psychologists alike have wrestled with these questions, and in recent years, the quest to understand and measure “meaning in life” has…
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The Illusion of Self: What Altered Minds Teach Us About Who We Are
What if everything you thought you knew about yourself—your memories, your body, even your sense of being—was not as solid as it seemed? Science writer Anil Ananthaswamy invites us to explore this provocative idea through the lens of “altered selves,” experiences shaped by conditions like schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, foreign limb syndrome, and out-of-body phenomena. His exploration…
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Press Pause and Reflect: The Power of a Life Audit
We live in a fast-moving world. Days blur into weeks, and before we know it, months have slipped by. We chase goals, tick off tasks, juggle responsibilities—but how often do we actually stop and ask ourselves whether we’re on the right path? That’s where a life audit comes in. It’s not just another to-do; it’s…
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The Conversation That Might Just Shift the World: A Meeting of Minds on Consciousness, Science, and Reality
Imagine a world where science and spirituality are no longer strange bedfellows but companions in the same inquiry. Where the age-old questions of “Who am I?” and “What is real?” are not dismissed as abstract musings but approached with the same rigor and reverence as particle physics or neuroscience. That world doesn’t just exist in…
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Daniel Kahneman on Well-Being: The Pursuit of Happiness vs. The Story of Our Lives
Title: Daniel Kahneman on the Science of Happiness: From Experience to Memory and Back Again In a conversation as illuminating as it was honest, Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman sat down to reflect on his decades of groundbreaking work—not just in behavioral economics and decision-making, but in the complex world of human well-being. Best known for…
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The World is Not Physical: Understanding Bernardo Kastrup’s Analytic Idealism
Most of us assume that the world around us is made of solid, physical things—matter, atoms, and forces interacting in space. But what if that assumption is wrong? What if the world is not physical at all, but entirely mental in nature? This is the bold claim of philosopher Bernardo Kastrup, who argues for analytic idealism,…
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The Paradox of Effort: How Letting Go Leads to Success
Once, there was a writer who specialized in crafting thought-provoking essays. Through hard work and creativity, she published numerous captivating pieces. But one day, inspiration evaded her. She tried exploring different topics, scoured bookshelves, and searched the internet, yet nothing resonated. As panic crept in, she feared she had succumbed to writer’s block. However, she…
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The Dance of Order and Disorder: Consciousness, Evolution, and Creativity
Have you ever thought about how life balances the chaos of randomness with the order of design? Dennis Noble, an acclaimed scientist, believes this balance is the key to understanding life, creativity, and even consciousness itself. In a recent interview, he explored how the interplay of order and disorder shapes evolution, biology, and our understanding of the…
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20 Biggest Paradoxes of Life That Make Us Think Twice
Life has a funny way of throwing curveballs, and sometimes, the more we try to understand it, the more complex it seems. Paradoxes are those strange truths that reveal the contradictory, messy nature of our experiences, and they often carry powerful insights about life’s mysteries. Here are 20 paradoxes of life that remind us how…
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Exploring Consciousness: Beyond Brains, Quantum Fields, and Machines
Consciousness has puzzled scientists, philosophers, and thinkers for centuries. Federico Faggin, inventor of the first microprocessor and pioneer in touch technology, believes we need to fundamentally rethink our approach to understanding consciousness. In a recent interview, he shared insights from his book, Irreducible Consciousness: Life, Computers, and Human Nature, explaining his belief that consciousness is…
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The Illusion of Free Will and What It Means for Us
Sam Harris, a well-known author and thinker, challenges a fundamental belief: the existence of free will. In his talks, he argues that our sense of making conscious choices is just that—a sense, not reality. Let’s explore his arguments and what they mean for how we view ourselves, morality, and society. Why Free Will Might Be…
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Shankara, Academia, and the Quest for Truth: Bridging Spirituality and Science
When we think of Adi Shankaracharya, we often view him as one of the greatest spiritual figures in Indian philosophy. His work systematizing Advaita Vedanta and his deep commentary on the Upanishads laid the foundation for non-duality as a spiritual path. But what’s often underappreciated is the way Shankara approached this task—it wasn’t just spiritual;…
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Understanding Consciousness Through Attention Schema Theory (AST)
Have you ever wondered why we feel conscious? Why do we have that inner experience of being aware of the world around us and of ourselves? A fascinating idea called the Attention Schema Theory (AST) offers a fresh take on this age-old question. What is Attention Schema Theory? Imagine for a moment that your brain…
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Why I Don’t Consume Meat
A Reflection on Sentience, Sukshma Sharira, and Consciousness As someone deeply connected to spiritual practices and the exploration of consciousness, I’ve found myself continually reflecting on the choices I make—especially when it comes to food. One of the most significant decisions I’ve made in my life is to stop consuming meat. This choice is not…
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Aristotle’s Concept of Eudaemonia & the Highest Good
Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher, had a unique and complex view of what it means to live a good and fulfilling life, which he called “eudaimonia.” This concept is often translated as “flourishing” or “happiness,” but it’s more than just feeling happy—it’s about living a life that is truly excellent and meaningful. Aristotle believed that…
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Understanding Consciousness: Insights from Anil Seth’s TED Talks
As someone deeply interested in the topic of consciousness, I was profoundly moved and enlightened by Anil Seth’s TED talks. These talks and his book, Being You, have become cherished resources in my journey to understand the nature of consciousness. My fascination with this topic also draws me towards spiritual wisdom traditions such as Vedanta and…
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Unveiling ‘I am’: The Fundamental Sense of Existence
Is ‘I am’ a thought or feeling or cognition? The ‘I am’ or ‘aham vritti’ can be considered as a form of cognition, but it’s more than just a thought or a feeling. It’s a fundamental sense of existence or being.
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Beyond the Ladder: Expanding Your Self, not Your Ego, in Work and Life
We’re constantly bombarded with messages to “climb the ladder,” “hustle harder,” and “achieve more.” While striving for goals and self-improvement is valuable, the relentless pursuit of external validation can lead down a treacherous path: the inflation of the ego. But what if there was another way? What if, instead of expanding our ego, we focused…
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Why Philosophy Is Not for Everyone
Why Philosophy Is Not for Everyone? To answer in one line: Not Everyone Has the Competence or the Stomach for Philosophy. Philosophy, often regarded as the pursuit of wisdom and the exploration of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, ethics, and reality, has a long and storied history. It has been pivotal in shaping human thought,…
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Bundle Theory of Self and Its Dance with Advaita Vedanta
Have you ever wondered what makes up your sense of self? Is it a solid entity, a bundle of experiences, or something else entirely? Well, buckle up, because we’re diving into the fascinating world of the Bundle Theory of Self and its intriguing connection with Advaita Vedanta. So, first things first: what’s this bundle theory…
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Live One Life. Live with Integrity
There are countless ways to live life: some of us believe in living for the day, some want to make the best of the day, some want to live for an afterlife, some want to live many lives in the same one and so on. There is no one to how many schools of life…
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