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Do You Have a Moment?
How dreadful boredom is — how dreadfully boring; the only thing I see is emptiness, the only thing I live on is emptiness, the only thing I move in is emptiness. Søren Kierkegaard Kierkegaard is right — only that he lived in the 19th century. Lethargic activity can be debilitating and depressing; but for us,…
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The Meaning of Huzun in Islamic Philosophy
What is the meaning of Hüzün? Orhan Pamuk answers this question in his book Istanbul: Memories and the City. According to Pamuk, it was Hüzün that kept the people of the city rooted in what it was, but at the same time, inspired them to go forth and discover what could be. It is the…
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The Philosophy of Euthanasia
The new era of technology has created knotty ethical dilemmas and agonising choices. One such dilemma is regarding the underlying philosophy of euthanasia. Or voluntary death, in simple words. In 1976, the landmark case of Karen Ann Quinlan focused attention on the issues involved in the process of dying. For a year, twenty-one-year-old Karen had…
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Spirituality for Modern Times
Spirituality, like Science, is a field of research and study. We want to understand ourselves, the world around us, and what it means to be alive on Earth. We want to discover who we really are, and we want to understand our suffering. Understanding our suffering gives rise to acceptance and love, and this is…
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Women in Marco Polo’s Travels
Marco Polo experienced a number of cultural shocks during his travels in the east, especially regarding how women lived in different cultures. Let’s see what he meant.
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A Brief History of the Middle East (Part Four)
In this episode of our History of the Middle East series, we now arrive at the Roman Empire and its influence on the region. Let’s begin then. The next few centuries of Roman rule meant efficiency, good order and justice in accordance with Roman law. The road and tax systems were greatly improved. Egypt became…
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Marcel Proust’s Advice on the Possibility of an Apocalypse
If you lived in Paris in the 1920s, you might have enjoyed reading a newspaper called L’Intransigeant. It had a reputation for investigative news, metropolitan gossip and incisive editorials. It also had a habit of dreaming up big questions and asking French celebrities to send in their replies. In the summer of 1922, the paper…
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A Brief History of the Middle East (Part Three)
Note: This is part three of our History of the Middle East series. To read part two, please click here. Alexander’s dream of a vast united Hellenistic empire did not survive his early death, as his conquests were disputed between his generals. But Hellenistic civilisation remained dominant in the successor empires which stretched from Persia…
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