Are we optimists or pessimists?
Gloom is easily mistaken for intellectual depth. Have you ever seen a photo of a smiling existentialist?
ReadTag: Ethics
The black tie that binds
Like most dress codes worldwide, the evening suit is a symbol of elitism and exclusion. When people are required to put on special dress, you don’t need to be an anthropologist to recognise that it is designed to emphasise the difference in status between those who wear it and those who do not.
ReadShould we ever delay the inevitable?
In the 1986 film Hannah and Her Sisters, Woody Allen’s character Mickey has a moment of existential angst in Central Park. “Look at these people jogging,” he says, “trying to stave off the inevitable decay of the body.” You might dismiss this as the morose musing of a depressive. But I think that when most people watch the film, they can see Mickey has a point…
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British politics and the lost art of rhetoric
Hilary Benn and others were acclaimed for their speeches in the Syria debate in the Commons. But if this was the House at its best, its best is not good enough.
ReadRazed to Life
We often feel it is important to preserve what we have inherited, but unless we appreciate that we would not even have such an inheritance unless others had been willing to tamper with what they in turn were bequeathed, we cannot understand what is really at stake and what matters.
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