Over time, humans have developed more and more complex tools to make life easier and to reduce work for the human. To some, this is exciting. To others, it is insidious. Are we making tools that are making us less human? Will our tools one day replace us? What will our future look like, and how will robotics impact the human condition?
For a nine-year-old girl, it was incomprehensible to watch her father gather all his books to take them out of town to burn them secretly. Worried about her father being arrested by the new regime in Iran in 1981, young Shabnam had to let go of the books she had planned to learn from, one day when she grew up.
“The Abscondment” explores the seductiveness of saving a community over tending to the needs of a child — is one more important than the other? Can selflessness, anti-materialism, and community work justify child neglect?
This is a story about a troubled man’s relationship with authority. In psychoanalysis, Freud’s concept of “transference” has to do with a process where the analyst becomes the object of all the patient’s emotional energy and neediness. But does it happen only in a psychoanalytic context?
Does drug use encourage creativity and creation of art? Some classes of drugs appear to improve creativity or increase activity in the brain that could lead to more creativity. Other classifications of drugs may promote creativity, but could also lead to addiction and other negative health consequences. Do you think that consuming substances enhances your creativity? If so, can they be used responsibly?
Are humans biologically wired for ideologies? How do ideologies create ideologues? Is common ground possible? As a leading scholar of ideologies, Peter Boghossian’s work directly relates to the theme for our Issue No. 2: Ideologies, Belief Systems, & The Human Condition. In today’s conversation, we ask Peter about his views on various ideological stances and what we can do to overcome roadblocks in communication.
Nature holds a lot of power that can teach and inspire us, as evidenced by all the folk tales involving animals. Making art helps me think about how we get along with animals and how we can change our lives to be more like them. One of the many things animals have taught me is to be adaptable—to change with my environment and to make art that changes with my environment, even using materials from it. Like a bird making its nest! But another lesson from animals is that of stillness, as I’ve been reminded during quarantine.
Experiencing love is linked to higher self-esteem, improved immune system, lower blood pressure, and various other health benefits. For many, achieving love is akin to self-actualization: it is the ultimate goal of life and synonymous with true happiness. The desire to attain love can lead to obsession, codependence, and intense fears of rejection. Without love, we feel unworthy. So, what happens when love becomes additive? When a fundamental human faculty is utilized excessively, transforming a healing experience into a damaging one? Is it better to have loved and lost, or better to have never loved at all?
With the pandemic, financial collapse, and a desire for national stability, a concept like the universal basic income (UBI) is a valuable tool for people of all political ideologies to consider as we explore options for developing and maintaining national stability.
The world is gradually trying to recover from a pandemic that has resulted in one of the most severe global economic crises and therefore, quite naturally, arts and cultural heritage sectors have taken quite a major hit all over the world. Yet, what is truly amazing is that it has not dampened artistic spirits. What has dawned on all of us by now, surely, is that science and technology will get us out of this situation one day, but it is the arts, culture, and humanities that will get us through this tough time right now.
