Academy of Ideas

“In society you will not find health, but in nature. Unless our feet at least stood in the midst of nature, all our faces would be pale and livid.”   Henry David Thoreau, A Natural History of Massachusetts A growing body of research shows that spending time in nature elevates our mood, reduces stress, enhances […]

“In every walk of life, we assume the expression and appearance of the person we want others to believe we are. Hence, we may say that this world is a world of masks.” François de La Rochefoucauld, The Moral Maxims and Reflections Most people claim that their motives are good and pure, yet their actions […]

“One third of all the sorrow I must endure is unavoidable. It is the sorrow inherent in the human condition, the price we must pay for being sentient and self-conscious organisms, aspirants to liberation, but subject to the laws of nature and under orders to keep on marching, through irreversible time, through a world wholly […]

“Know how to appear the fool. The wisest sometimes play this card, and there are times when the greatest knowledge consists in appearing to lack knowledge. You mustn’t be ignorant, just feign ignorance.” Baltasar Gracian, How to Use Your Enemies While many people openly flaunt possessions such as wealth, status, beauty, and power, when it comes to the greatest human good, […...

Given that man is the physically stronger sex, it may seem preposterous to claim that many men fear women more than women fear men. Yet across cultures and throughout history, women have often been portrayed as the greatest threat to man. In Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, the American linguist and philosopher George Lakoff shows how in many languages there […]