Issue: Homo Sapiens

Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason and the Gap Between Us and Them

Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason and the Gap Between Us and Them

Posted by | Sep 17, 2020 | |

Our brains were designed for tribal life, for getting along with a select group of others (Us), and for fighting off everyone else (Them). But modern life has thrust the world’s tribes into a shared space, creating conflicts of interest and clashes of values, along with unprecedented opportunities. As the world shrinks, the moral lines that divide us become more salient and more puzzling. We fight over everything from tax codes to gay marriage to global warming, and we wonder where, if at all, we can find our common ground.

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Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

Posted by | Sep 17, 2020 | |

Joshua Foer used to be like most of us, forgetting phone numbers and mislaying keys. Then he learnt the art of memory training, and a year later found himself in the finals of the US Memory Championship. He also discovered a truth we often forget: that, even in an age of technology, memory is the key to everything we are.

In Moonwalking with Einstein he takes us on an astonishing journey through the mind, from ancient ‘memory palace’ techniques to neuroscience, from the man who can recall nine thousand books to another who constantly forgets who he is. In doing so, Foer shows how we can all improve our memories.

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Life at the End of Us vs Them: Cross Culture Stories

Life at the End of Us vs Them: Cross Culture Stories

Posted by | Sep 12, 2020 | |

Our present moment can no longer sustain a stable “us” defined against an alien “them.” So say René Girard and Ivan Illich, radical critics of both Christianity and culture. If they are right, this makes our time an endtime. The end of us against them can deteriorate into the chaos of each against each, or it can open outward into freely chosen communion. It is an expectant—and apocalyptic—time. How does one live in this strange, endtime world? As a wanderer in the odd, cross-culture country Girard and Illich have mapped, the author finds himself in a surprising new place in relation to those who are his other: women, queer folk, refugees, Muslims, atheists, and Indigenous people. In this collection of essays, he blinks, looks around, and makes some field notes.

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Jesus the Forgiving Victim

Jesus the Forgiving Victim

Posted by | Sep 12, 2020 | |

Jesus the Forgiving Victim Listening for the Unheard Voice is comprised of four books of essays.
Book One – Starting human, staying human
Book Two – God, not one of the gods
Book Three – The difference Jesus makes
Book Four – Unexpected Insiders

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