Suggested readings, #6

Here are some interesting articles I’ve come across recently, for your consideration:

“Positive thinking” has turned happiness into a duty and a burden, says a Danish psychologist. (Quartz)

Do profits prioritize well? Mindlessness in markets. (Big Think)

How to reduce digital distractions: advice from medieval monks. (Aeon)

What the Ancient Greeks teach us. The value of Athenian tragedy in an age of anxiety. (New Statesman)

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Massimo

Massimo is the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. He blogs at platofootnote.org and howtobeastoic.org. He is the author of How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life.

One thought on “Suggested readings, #6”

  1. Thanks Massimo! That Aeon article was great! Especially this: “Their favorite words for describing concentration stemmed from the Latin tenere, to hold tight to something. The ideal was a mens intentus, a mind that was always and actively reaching out to its target. And doing that successfully meant taking the weaknesses of their bodies and brains seriously, and to work hard at making them behave.” Interesting how this contrasts striking to the Buddhist and Vedic ideas of concentration as samādhi ( “placing together”).

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