What’s the Use of Beauty?
Edouard Manet’s notion of beauty changed starkly near the end of his life. Who determines what is or isn’t beautiful? And why are we so drawn to it?
All posts tagged: Psychology
On Coincidence
On meaningful coincidences and why unscientific beliefs can actually be entirely rational
The Art of Madness
On the link between insanity and creativity and how the art of turn-of-the-century mentally ill asylum patients became the basis of contemporary art, from Duchamp to Twombly to Cattelan.
Re-thinking the Coming-of-Age Tale
How can you go about finding out ‘who you really are’ if the whole idea is a cultural fabrication?
The Psychological Experience of Poetry
On how our brains and bodies find pleasure in poetry.
Only the Lonely
On what is lost when we spend our lives trying to avoid feeling alone.
Why David Hume Is So Hot Right Now
An interview with James Harris—author of Hume: An Intellectual Biography—on misconceptions, skepticism, and Humean lessons.
When It’s Good to be Bad
Engaging in behavior antithetical to a given goal can increase the chances of eventually achieving it.
Does Dressing Up Make You Smarter?
What happens to the mind when the body looks its best?
The Morality of Language
Does speaking in a second language make you a more moral person?
