Deep Thoughts Articles

When the state is unjust, citizens may use justifiable violence

If you see police choking someone to death – such as Eric Garner, the 43-year-old black horticulturalist wrestled down on the streets of New York City in 2014 – you might choose to pepper-spray them and flee. You might even save an innocent life. But what ethical...

Let America Be America Again – Poem by Langston Hughes

Heard this point this morning and had to put it here. How wonderful. How true.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda: the haunting regret of failing our ideal selves

Psychologist Tom Gilovich and a former Cornell graduate student have found people are haunted more by regrets about failing to fulfill their hopes and dreams than by regrets about failing to fulfill their responsibilities. Forsaken dreams. Romantic interests not...

Is meditating on death like putting on a fur coat in summer?

Memento mori – invitations to reflect on our own mortality – have been common throughout history. Two ancient traditions that made reflection on death central to their paths are Buddhism and Stoicism. For both, the starting point is the fact that our normal...

The meanings of life

Parents often say: ‘I just want my children to be happy.’ It is unusual to hear: ‘I just want my children’s lives to be meaningful,’ yet that’s what...

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