Philosophy

Newsletters

You Are What You Eat (Newsletter 056)

We humans are profoundly affected by another type of consumption besides what we put in our mouths, and that is what we put in our minds.

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Moral Letters

112 - On New Students - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Philosophy always welcomes new students.

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Moral Letters

111 - On Clever People - Moral Letters for Modern Times

We are distracted by surface appearances because they are the first things we see. You should seek to understand the deeper meaning, and to be aware that in the wrong hands words can hide as much as they reveal.

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Moral Letters

110 - On The Value Of Wealth - Moral Letters for Modern Times

The true responsibility of parents is to raise their children to be capable of safely making their own way in the world, and not to remove every obstacle from their paths.

Long view of a white sand beach, with dunes in the foreground and the ocean in the background

Moral Letters

109 - On Your Associations - Moral Letters for Modern Times

If you wish to have a better understanding of the world, spend time in the company of people who demonstrate their depth of perception and see beyond the surface of things.

Moral Letters

108 - On A Learning Mind - Moral Letters for Modern Times

When you are told by experts what to think you may become a believer, but you will not become a thinker.

Snow-covered vineyard with a small hut at the top and a line of trees

Moral Letters

107 - On Accepting The Inevitable - Moral Letters for Modern Times

By thinking on all the things that can happen to you, you prepare yourself to deal with them appropriately.

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Moral Letters

106 - On Thoughts And Actions - Moral Letters for Modern Times

To the extent we feel it necessary to judge motivations in business, we are comfortable to infer motive from actions.

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Moral Letters

105 - On Treading Safely - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Remember that being polite costs you nothing while being indifferent may cost you everything.

A geometric row of apartment buildings with a square smokestack in the foreground

Moral Letters

104 - On Self-Care - Moral Letters for Modern Times

There is no distance we should not travel to take a cure for what ails us. But I would have you reflect that no amount of travel will help us if we are treating the wrong illness.

Red and purple-leaved bushes in front of green bushes and apartment buildings

Moral Letters

103 - On The Greatest Threat - Moral Letters for Modern Times

You are never closer to danger than in the presence of your fellow humans.

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Moral Letters

102 - On What Survives Us - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Serving as an example is more powerful than lingering in memory.