I suggest looking at three ways of thinking prominent in non-western philosophies that might alert us to aspects of our own that have been squeezed too much into the background and could benefit from being given more attention. Once we do that, we can recalibrate, putting more emphasis on the values that have been neglected and less on those that have come to carry too much weight. If that helps us to a more compassionate, less adversarial politics, all the better.
Read
Nervous States sits at the intersection of ongoing debates about post-truth, the assault on reason, the privileging of personal feelings and the rise of populism. The book stands out for its sincere attempt not simply to lament these trends but to understand them.
Read
A civilised society gives you the right to be an offensive, insensitive asshole; a civilised person doesn’t use it.
Read
I intend to make the whole of September, and perhaps even the rest of the year, my “festival of 50”[…]
Read
Communal commemorations may take arbitrary or even baffling forms, but they have an important role to play in civic life.
Read