Grammatical Conventions Delineate Reality

Thus the task of education is to make children fit to live in a society by persuading them to learn and accept its codes-the rules and conventions of communication whereby the society holds itself together. There is first the spoken language. The child is taught to accept "tree" and not "boojum" as the agreed sign for that (pointing to the object). We have no difficulty in understanding that the word "tree" is a matter of convention. What is much less obvious is that convention also governs t...

 "Having" Mode and "Being" Mode

The American essayist and biographer Agnes Repplier saw leisure as necessary for the completion not just of individuals but of civilizations. Leisure, she noted, “has a distinct and honorable place wherever nations are released from the pressure of their first rude needs, their first homely toil, and the rise of happier levels of grace and intellectual repose.” She believed that every investment and allowance should be made to support a leisure class—a fortunati—not so that its member...

 Leisure is an End That Can Only Be Enjoyed Without Burdens

But even when the work ethic reigns supreme, leisure holds a potent moral valence. Although we may not have much say over how we make money, we do have a choice about what we do in our free time. If work represents is, leisure represents ought: How we choose to use it will either embody our understanding of the good life or reveal the depth of our degradation. What is time well spent? Philosophers and social critics have long pondered variations of that question and offered rather consistent ...

 Vitamin D and Omega-3 Slow Aging

Previously in DO-HEALTH (including all 2,157 participants), we reported that omega-3 alone reduced the rate of infections by 13% (ref. 22) and the rate of falls by 10% (ref. 23), and all three interventions combined showed a significant additive benefit on reducing prefrailty by 39% (ref. 24) and incident invasive cancer by 61% (ref. 25) over a 3-year follow-up. The aim of the DNAm analysis in DO-HEALTH Bio-Age was to assess the effects of the interventions at the molecular level. Three of th...

 Chengyu: Four-Character Chinese Expressions

心神不宁 (xīn shén bù níng): “to feel bad about nothing” 损人利己 (sǔn rén lì jǐ): “to seek benefit at the expense of others” 幸灾乐祸 (xìng zāi lè huò): “to enjoy others’ misfortunes” 力不从心 (Lì bù cóng xīn): “the qualities aren’t at the level of the aspirations” 亦步亦趋 (yì bù yì qū): “to blindly imitate someone” 桃李满天下 (táolǐ mǎn tiān xià): “to have pupils everywhere” 省吃俭用 (shěng chī jiǎn yòng)...

 Cultural Preservation is an Ongoing Effort

“Historical oblivion is the default, not the exception” to the human record, writes game designer Jordan Mechner in his contribution to this report.13 Be it natural elements like fire or water, negligent or intentional people, or simple forgetfulness, practically all human expression will disappear or change without human intervention. Only through acts of repair and digitization will materials such as a grandmother’s cookbook, a groundbreaking game ahead of its time, or endangered lang...

 Corporations Controlling Culture

Corporate interests, alongside changes in media distribution, are eroding the public’s ability to construct and access its own cultural record. As more digital content is being provided to individuals, libraries, and archives solely through streaming and temporary licensing deals, rather than through permanent ownership, cultural objects such as sound recordings, books, television shows, and films are at constant risk of being removed from platforms without ever being archived. This means t...

 What is Prosochē?

The brief definition offered above provides some insight into the Stoic concept of prosochē; however, I do not think it draws out its full meaning and richness. My own understanding of the concept was furthered by the following descriptions of prosochē from various authors: A “fundamental attitude” of “continuous attention, which means constant tension and consciousness, as well as vigilance exercised at every moment.” Being “perfectly aware not only of what [one] is doing, but ...

 Prohairesis

Prohairesis or proairesis (Ancient Greek: προαίρεσις; variously translated as "moral character", "will", "volition", "choice", "intention", or "moral choice"[1]) is a fundamental concept in the Stoic philosophy of Epictetus. It represents the choice involved in giving or withholding assent to impressions (phantasiai). The use of this Greek word was first introduced into philosophy by Aristotle in the Nicomachean Ethics.[2] To Epictetus, it is the faculty that distinguish...

 Cultural Achievement Undermines Contemplative Attention

Excessive positivity also expresses itself as an excess of stimuli, information, and impulses. It radically changes the structure and economy of attention. Perception becomes fragmented and scattered. Moreover, the mounting burden of work makes it necessary to adopt particular dispositions toward time and attention [Zeitund Aufmerksamkeitstechnik]; this in turn affects the structure of attention and cognition. The attitude toward time and environment known as “multitasking” does not repre...