For as long as humans have thought deeply about existence there has been an intuition that there must be some universal principle of natural order. This would be a background reality to which even the gods as imagined in human culture would be subject. It has been conceived as the Indian Vedic ‘Rta’ and ‘Dharma’, […]
The Wisdom of the Taoist Mystics by David Howard Smith Read More »
Perhaps life hasn’t turned out entirely as you’d hoped? Your car is less prestigious than the BMW Series 7 next door. You’re holidays are not exotic, your marriage has not endured as a lovestruck dream, your children’s behaviour is disappointing. You’ve been overlooked in the race for promotion. In your early 20s your ambition was
Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed Read More »
Lisa Jardine has died on 25 October 2015. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11955153/Lisa-Jardine-historian-obituary.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Jardine) Daughter of Jacob Bronowski, she became a brilliant historian, Renaissance scholar, humanist and polymath. Everything I have read of hers has been a pleasure and an education. Hers was the voice of sanity, erudition and wisdom. Selecting only one of her works is difficult, but please read Ingenious
Ingenious Pursuits by Lisa Jardine Read More »
Professor Joshua Greene (http://www.joshua-greene.net/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Greene_(psychologist)) is the director of Harvard University’s Moral Cognition Lab. He offers a grand synthesis of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy here. His thesis in this book, Moral Tribes, is as follows. Human brains have evolved for tribal life, for getting along with a select group of others (‘Us’). Our hominid ancestors had to fight off everyone else (‘Them’). Modern
Moral Tribes by Joshua Greene Read More »
All human cultures that we know of, literate and non-literate, have constructed stories about their own origins. It’s a perfectly natural thing to do. At an individual level the child asks ‘Where did I come from, Mummy?’ So, it’s equally compelling for a tribe or civilisation to ask ‘Where did we come from? The answers,
Origins by Jim Baggott Read More »
If you’ve ever thought the social class system in Britain was a thing of the past, think again. Professor Mike Savage of The London School of Economics (http://www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/whoswho/academic/savage.aspx) shows in this book, Social Class in the 21st Century, that it is as entrenched as ever. The author, with a team of sociologists responsible for the
Social Class in the 21st Century by Mike Savage Read More »
Michael Connelly (http://www.michaelconnelly.com/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Connelly ) is back to entertain us with another detective thriller featuring Hieronymus (‘Harry’) Bosch. Bosch is named after the 15th century early Dutch painter known for his fantastic imagery. He painted detailed landscapes and illustrations of moral and religious narratives. Bosch is also the name of my washing machine, and I must say it’s been solid
Perhaps at this very moment you are lusting after an iPhone 12 Pro? How about a new BMW Series 7 in Ruby Black Metallic finish? A new luxury fitted kitchen? Expensive holidays in exotic locations that take a huge amount of jet fuel to get to? The very latest designer label clothes, handbags, shoes? The
Prosperity without Growth by Tim Jackson Read More »
We think of ‘the countyside’ as a place of nature into which we can escape for refreshment. It offers a break from the dismal treadmill of our ant like endeavours in urban life. Yet there is practically nothing left of pristine wilderness in these, our British Isles. Humans have for so long been hunting, chopping,
Landmarks by Robert Macfarlane Read More »
