Night Waves
NIGHT WAVES, BBC RADIO 3. Read a 5-minute essay on the inconceivable on the May 20 programme, which you can listen[…]
ReadAuthor: Julian Baggini
Criminal minds
Adrian Raine is surely right that we cannot ignore the evidence that points to the importance of neurological factors in violent crime. If he shouts a little too loudly about the brain’s role, it is because that voice needs to be heard. In The Anatomy of Violence, it comes across clearly, powerfully and often persuasively.
ReadOn humility
Like modesty, humility is something that, if professed, is self-refuting. True humility is expressed in deeds, not words. The humble are those who truly walk the same ground as everyone else, not necessarily with grovelling, hunched backs but certainly not lording it over others either. What we need is more such genuine humility in public life, and hear less of it in extremis. The truly humble feel the ground beneath their feet every day and do not only become aware of it when held aloft or pushed down to their knees.
ReadHow do you cope with a broken promise?
How can we, as adults, make promises on behalf of the people we will be in five, 10, 20 years or more?
ReadWhat do we need?
Children learn young that the best way to get what they want is to claim that they need it. Often they’re being sincere, not manipulative, believing that the latest smartphone really is essential. Convincing ourselves that we are driven by necessities rather than nakedly selfish desire is a habit many of us take into adulthood…
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