Middle way

To Democritus it was euthymia, to Seneca tranquility, to the Buddhists equanimity. All of these concepts point to the same state of mind. The Greek original of ...

Technology and ethics

The battle between religion and science (or at least some religions or sects) has always seemed to be rather a struggle between technology and ethics. To turn-o...

“Fight or flight”

The instinct of “fight or flight” is basic in wilderness animals, but society has changed this instinct in humans from a purely physical mechanism i...

Feelings

We appeal to logic, reason, and argument to overcome what we judge to be lower instincts: emotions and feelings. But rationality devoid of emotions and feelings...

Hermit in the crowd

I like the Zen saying “Can you be a hermit in the crowd?” but, of course, the sentiment is not exclusive to Zen. Here is a version attributed to Amm...

Last moments

An orange-brown butterfly flits about in the darkening twilight. There are no flowers hereabouts, but perhaps the butterfly has followed me or is looking for mo...

Old Age

I picked up a local newspaper the other day — I seldom do — and my eye fell on the obituary page, where pathos emboldens survivors of loved ones to ...