“Purpose” in science and morality ... What Aristotle thought about purpose in nature ... Why asking “what is it for?” makes sense in biology but not other sciences ... Does form dictate function? ... Is there a “law” of morality? ... The paths to human flourishing ... Why a “scientific” approach to ethics à la Sam Harris doesn’t work ...

The partisanship that bolsters Trump ... Jay’s favorite experiments on the psychology of tribalism ... Is the anti-Trump movement its own worst enemy? ... What’s going on in Trump’s brain? ... How a sports fan’s brain warps reality ... Is there hope for overcoming our tribal psychology? ... Want a retweet? Stoke moral outrage. ...

Massimo’s new book How to Be a Stoic ... Why we all need a philosophy of life ... Why Stoicism can appeal to Christians, Buddhists, and atheists alike ... Stoic virtues, disciplines, and areas of study ... Cynics—the monks of Stoicism ... Things within and outside your control ... Massimo’s Stoic version of a Dear Abby column ...

The bad effects of addictive tech ... How much time do you spend on your phone? ... You might be addicted if... ... The World of Warcraft as a case study in tech addiction ... The tricks Silicon Valley uses to get you hooked ... Adam’s advice for breaking your screen addiction ...

David’s fusion of existentialism, Buddhism and biology ... Triangulating the meaning of life ... Buddhist doubts about the existentialist view of freedom ... Free will and the hard problem of consciousness ... The myth of Sisyphus ... Being an existentialist bio-Buddhist ...

When technology takes people’s jobs ... Asking your iPhone for medical advice ... Killer robots! ... Letting machines decide whether to push the nuclear button ... The growing threat of bioterrorism ... How to stop bioterrorists ... Is it all happening too fast? ...

What is matter? ... What is the relationship between math and reality? ... Your metaphysical bias is showing ... You can’t escape the weirdness of quantum physics! ... The mystery of consciousness ... The emptiness of The Tao of Physics ... The observer and the observed ...

Fundamentals of Stoicism… ... …and existentialism ... The roles we play ... Seasickness and other things we can’t control ... Contributions to psychotherapy from Stoics and existentialists ... Suicide, "the only serious philosophical problem" ... Stoicism as a philosophy of love ... When being virtuous is close to impossible ...

Fundamentals of Stoicism… ... …and existentialism ... The roles we play ... Seasickness and other things we can’t control ... Contributions to psychotherapy from Stoics and existentialists ... Suicide, "the only serious philosophical problem" ... Stoicism as a philosophy of love ... When being virtuous is close to impossible ...

The Point of Vanishing, Howard’s memoir about life as a hermit ... How an eye injury changed Howard’s reality ... Into the woods ... How isolation changed Howard’s sense of self ... Howard’s expansive awareness of time ... Out of the woods ...