Nautilus | Science Connected

Monsters can be part of the moral imagination as a way to define what we don’t want to be. An obvious case would be a jihadi, who cuts off the head of a journalist. But there’s also subtle permutations like Ebenezer Scrooge. Our literature and culture creates icons of immorality, and they help shape…

— Stephen T. Asma, nautil.us

monsters Philosophy Ancient Philosophy

I think every person is capable of committing monstrous acts, but true monsters are quite rare.

— Stephen T. Asma, nautil.us

monsters Philosophy Ancient Philosophy

There’s a xenophobia running through the whole history of monsters. If you’re different from us, we’ll have a disgust-response or will be afraid and on guard. You see that in the ancient world. You see it through the medieval period and all the way up to the present, in the way we cast our enemies.

— Stephen T. Asma, nautil.us

monsters Philosophy Ancient Philosophy

Contrary to popular belief, peace and quiet is all about the noise in your head.

— Daniel A. Gross, nautil.us

Science Peace Stillness Noise

Kirste found that two hours of silence per day prompted cell development in the hippocampus, the brain region related to the formation of memory, involving the senses.

— Daniel A. Gross, nautil.us

Science Peace Stillness Noise

So although talk of “mind” and “body” is technically inaccurate, it does capture an important functional difference between two systems: a slow, cold, conscious mind and a fast, hot, unconscious set of bodily instincts, hunches, and skills.

— Edward Slingerland, nautil.us

Mind Body Wu-Wei

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