Philosophy
Philosophy is not just a snooty academic discipline. At its core, philosophy is a set of tools for thinking carefully about life’s big questions. In this sense, it is the master discipline that helps us make sense of all other fields of knowledge.
We practice philosophy more often than we might realize—whether we’re thinking critically about social issues, deciding where to go on vacation, or choosing a career path. The better we get at philosophy, the clearer our thinking becomes.
You can technically philosophize about anything, from art to science to the nature of reality itself. The branch of philosophy I write about most is ethics, which deals with how to conduct ourselves in the world.
Life is unbelievably complex. When people talk about ‘living well’ or ‘living a good life,’ what they’re essentially talking about is the ability to effectively navigate this complexity. One approach many people take to navigating life’s complexity is to adopt one overarching principle or pattern of behavior and apply it to all situations. The problem is that these types of narrow approaches only work up to a certain point.
What does it mean to live a good life? In this post, I explain why happiness—although certainly an important part of being human—is nevertheless just a single instrument in the symphony of life.
One of the oldest problems that humans have had to deal with is the problem of suffering. Life is full of unpleasant experiences, both psychological and physical.
But it goes even deeper than this: the knowledge of our own mortality is an existential burden that weighs heavily on us. At times life seems purposeless and even absurd.
What are we to do about this?
How do we reconcile our desire to explore and engage in challenges with our dislike for uncertainty? In this post, I explore two competing life philosophies—The Novelty Ethic and The Security Ethic—and how we can integrate them to create harmony and well-being…
Most life advice is incomplete. I don’t mean it’s necessarily bad, just that it’s not the whole story. In this short post, I’ll explain why that is.
The other day, someone asked me this question on Instagram:
“How do I find my purpose?”
The answer has deep implications for how we should live and what we should value and pursue in life. With that in mind, let’s think through this question carefully…
While it’s true that stability and change are both crucial aspects of well-being, each can also be taken too far. Too much stability can become rigid and suffocating, while too much change can become chaotic and destabilizing…
We have two fundamental yet conflicting sets of needs: those that support stability and those that support growth.
Many modern people assume change and growth are unquestionably good things. Marketers and politicians use this assumption to their advantage:
“This will change your life!”
“I can change the world!”
“Grow your business to 7 figures!”
But this perspective only tells one side of the story. Growth isn’t always a good thing and not all change is progress…
Given the kind of year we had in 2020, I’ve been thinking a lot about dysfunction.
What causes people to become imbalanced and chaotic? How can we restore balance and cultivate well-being, both on the individual and collective levels?
Of course, there are many possible answers to these questions. However, I think they share a common theme:
Dysfunction happens when we fail to honor the full range of values necessary for human flourishing.
Conversely, well-being emerges when we cultivate and pursue this full range of values in balanced and adaptive ways.
Let me explain…
For the past couple weeks, I haven’t been feeling like myself. I’ve been physically exhausted, emotionally burnt out, creatively stagnant, and psychologically depressed. I’ve been feeling like I’ve been battling an invisible monster.
On top of it all, I’ve also been feeling like a fraud: Even though I know many strategies to help me deal with these kinds of obstacles, I haven’t been using them. This has caused me to question my very credibility as a teacher, which has taken me down several dark rabbit holes.
Then, a couple days ago, I had an insight that stabilized my mood and gave me some hope and motivation. It was something I already knew but had forgotten…
This category is a bit harder to describe than the previous two, partly because it’s so ubiquitous (how do you explain water to a fish?) In a nutshell, it has to do with balancing opposing forces in order to establish harmony. It is characterized by equilibrium but also by paradox. In many ways, it is axiomatic because it describes how the world is ordered and the natural rhythm of life. It’s the philosophy behind the Yin Yang symbol. Here are a few concrete examples…
If you browse the self-help section of almost any bookstore, there seem to be nearly infinite principles, strategies and tips for living well.
But it goes deeper than self-help. Psychology, religion, philosophy and other fields all offer advice for how we ought to conduct ourselves and treat others: Meditate. Be more productive. Journal. Live in the now. Love thy neighbor. Be more assertive. Practice gratitude. Never be satisfied. Focus on the positive. Prepare for the worst case scenario. Be self-aware. Accept yourself.
It can be overwhelming.
But what if there are far fewer self-improvement principles than we think there are?
If you look at the self-help section of almost any bookstore, there seem to be nearly infinite principles, strategies and tips for living well. But is this really the case? What if there are far fewer life principles than we think there are?
Being a student of personal development and other related fields for the past 15 years, I’ve been exposed to a massive amount of ideas. Recently, I’ve been thinking about the best way to organize this information in order to make sense of it all…
I love figuring out where different worldviews overlap. I find it fascinating to identify the common ground between seemingly disparate ideas, people, and ways of thinking.
There are many different lenses through which we can view the world and make sense of it. Often, we do this by using frameworks.
For example, let’s say you wanted to learn how best to live in the world and interact with others. You could internalize the principles of Buddhism then go out and use that framework to make sense of the world. Alternatively, you could study the findings of modern psychology and use that framework to make sense of the world.
Although these frameworks vary in their details and levels of resolution, each does an adequate job of explaining what it sets out to explain. And both will help you achieve a similar goal in the end…
My notes and summary of the Chinese spiritual and philosophical classic, Tao Te Ching.