Albert Schweitzer was one of the courageous Europeans who, during the colonialism in Africa and the great humanitarian crisis, dared to do something of real benefit for the people of the African continent. Leaving behind a successful life in France, he went to the virgin forests of Equatorial Africa to provide much-needed medical assistance to … Read more
This article is based on the writings of 20th-century historian Christopher Dawson. As a historian of ideas, rather than bare facts (although his erudition was immense), many of his ideas are still very relevant today. One of his main themes is the importance of culture. To describe its role, he compares it to a plant … Read more
“The need for a state of morale that arises from the pure nature itself, from the battle itself, was emphasized by Plato in all his works, and more than twenty centuries later by Kant and his successors. There is no philosopher who considered himself such, or a thinker who would doubt this need. Despite the … Read more
Accustomed as we are to holding rigid and exclusive opinions, life and death have become two topics that captivate us in a special way. Generally, death is the one that causes greater aversion and fear, as it concerns unknown levels to us, except when it is considered an endless emptiness, a nothingness without content. Comparing … Read more
Some say that there has always been violence, we just didn’t talk about it as much. Now we have become more humane and less tolerant of violent behavior, so we talk about it more. Others say that there has never been as much violence as there is today. The fact is that violence has existed … Read more
Zen Buddhism is quite an unusual teaching. Historians and philosophers today debate whether it is a religion or a philosophy because Zen denies any external rituals, does not require special clothing or diet, and does not involve philosophical debates or religious revelations. The entire Zen literature consists of anecdotes from the lives of Zen teachers … Read more
This year marks the 420th anniversary of Giordano Bruno’s death. As his burning at the stake is often mentioned more frequently than the significance of his philosophy, we consider it necessary to briefly outline the basic features of Giordano Bruno’s philosophical thought. Bruno expanded Copernicus’ heliocentric system to include the “infinity of the universe and … Read more
There is an old Eastern proverb that says: The past is now, as is the future, which, although not yet in existence, already is. According to the Eastern view of time, reality exists outside the framework of time, and what we experientially perceive as separate phases are actually parts of the simultaneous reality. This is … Read more
“Who teaches about dying, teaches about living.” – Michel de Montaigne “Where do we come from and where are we going? This question seems to reverberate from the depths of ancient times to our present day, leaving us equally amazed and confused, just as the first humans likely were. Across different regions and throughout different … Read more
One question that is frequently asked about Buddhism is whether it is a religion or a philosophy, and different experts give different answers. According to Indian philosopher Mysore Hiriyanni (Basic Features of Indian Philosophy), Buddhism “started as a religion and was soon forced to become a philosophy as it had to defend itself against the … Read more
