Two characteristics of extremism
Any extremist ideology is totalizing and demonizing. Totalizing means that it claims to have a total understanding of everything, that whatever it says is [...]
Any extremist ideology is totalizing and demonizing. Totalizing means that it claims to have a total understanding of everything, that whatever it says is [...]
Four ways people look at problems: When we are in the mode of ignorance, whenever we are faced with problems, we go into self-pity and [...]
Intelligence means to see beyond the things that glitter to the things that matter. The world is filled with shiny trinkets and toys and these [...]
Making assumptions is not a problem, not being aware that we are making assumptions is a problem. Whenever we make assumptions about people thinking that, [...]
If the meaning of words can be redefined arbitrarily so that anything can mean anything, then nothing will mean anything. We live in a world [...]
Narrow-mindedness means to think that what matters to us must matter to everyone else. Most of us, if asked, would not consider ourselves to be [...]
What some people consider as clarity of vision, others consider as lack of vision. The Bhagavad Gita talks about how our vision of the world [...]
Ocean metaphors for liberation are used by both impersonalists and personalists, but in significantly different ways. Impersonalists hold that our consciousness is like a drop, [...]
We may think of fanatics to be scary-looking monstrous people who self-righteously destroy anyone who opposes them. While that is indeed fanaticism in activity there [...]
Learn to doubt and to go beyond doubt - Suppose we are lost in a risky territory with many invisible dangers such as concealed ditches [...]
When the tendency to doubt helps - In today’s educated circles, doubt is celebrated as an intellectual strength. Whenever thoughtful people encounter any claim, especially [...]
Are we using our intelligence intelligently? - When we see someone with intelligence far greater than ours (as measured by some parameter such as IQ), [...]
When black-and-white analysis helps and when it harms - The Bhagavad-gita analyzes people into two distinct categories: godly and ungodly (16.05). We might wonder, “Are [...]
The world can often be so complex and convoluted that we urgently need some framework to make sense of things. And philosophy strives to provide [...]
When we aspire to share some wisdom with others, especially to help them make better choices, we need to balance two things: truth and grace. [...]
When philosophy answers our questions — and when it doesn’t - Suppose we are driving and suddenly meet a deadend. That’s when we may turn [...]