Human civilization is an elaborate, symbolic defense mechanism against the knowledge of our own mortality. That’s what American cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker argued in his Pulitzer-winning book “The Denial of Death.” But unlike our denial of death, our consciousness of death is a powerful life-affirming force that can help us change the way we live … Read more
“Get into bed in a comfortable position, make sure the light is inadequate enough to cause a slight eyestrain, choose a book that is either terribly difficult or terribly boring … and you will be asleep in a few minutes,” writes Mortimer Adler (December 28, 1902-June 28, 2001) in his famous manual How to Read … Read more
Renowned psychoanalyst and philosopher Erich Fromm (March 23, 1900–March 18, 1980) was one of the most significant public intellectuals of the twentieth century. Living and working at the height of the Cold War and imminent threat of a nuclear annihilation, he put an enormous effort into bridging the gap between high government officials and human … Read more
“I discovered a long time ago that writing of the small things of the day, the trivial matters of the heart, the inconsequential but near things of this living,” wrote E. B. White to his brother Stanley White while reflecting on the art of living through writing. “Was the only kind of creative work which … Read more