Academy of Ideas

“Is ours a ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people,’ or a Kakistocracy, rather, for the benefit of knaves at the cost of fools?” (James Russell Lowell, letter in 1876)  Kakistocracy is a word that means “rule by the worst”. It is derived from the Greek words kakistos, meaning “worst,” and kratos, […] The post Kakistocracy – Are We Ruled By the Worst? first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Today we come across an individual who behaves like an automaton.”   Erich Fromm, Escape From Freedom In video games, an NPC, or non-player character, is a background figure who is governed by the programming of the game and capable only of performing assigned actions and repeating prewritten lines. An NPC is also a metaphor for […] The post The Psychology of NPCs – The Unthinking Masses first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

It is common to believe that when we die, we cease to exist. Yet some people who have come close to death, or who have been revived following a clinical death, have reported intensely lucid and profound experiences, known as near-death experiences. Near-death experiences, or what are called NDEs, raise the possibility that personal consciousness […] The post The Mystery Science Can’t Explain — Near-Death Experiences first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“In society you will not find health, but in nature. Unless our feet at least stood in the midst of nature, all our faces would be pale and livid.”   Henry David Thoreau, A Natural History of Massachusetts A growing body of research shows that spending time in nature elevates our mood, reduces stress, enhances […] The post The Cure for the Sickness of Modern Society – Henry David Thoreau first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“In every walk of life, we assume the expression and appearance of the person we want others to believe we are. Hence, we may say that this world is a world of masks.” François de La Rochefoucauld, The Moral Maxims and Reflections Most people claim that their motives are good and pure, yet their actions […] The post Dark Psychology – The Hidden Motives of Social Life first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“One third of all the sorrow I must endure is unavoidable. It is the sorrow inherent in the human condition, the price we must pay for being sentient and self-conscious organisms, aspirants to liberation, but subject to the laws of nature and under orders to keep on marching, through irreversible time, through a world wholly […] The post How to Escape a Meaningless Life first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Know how to appear the fool. The wisest sometimes play this card, and there are times when the greatest knowledge consists in appearing to lack knowledge. You mustn’t be ignorant, just feign ignorance.”  Baltasar Gracian, How to Use Your Enemies While many people openly flaunt possessions such as wealth, status, beauty, and power, when it comes to the greatest human good, […] The post Why You Should Pretend to Be Less Intelligent than You Are first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

Given that man is the physically stronger sex, it may seem preposterous to claim that many men fear women more than women fear men. Yet across cultures and throughout history, women have often been portrayed as the greatest threat to man. In Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, the American linguist and philosopher George Lakoff shows how in many languages there […] The post Why Men Fear Women first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“We should not forget that every neurosis entails a corresponding amount of demoralization. If a man is neurotic, he has lost confidence in himself. A neurosis is a humiliating defeat and is felt as such by people who are not entirely unconscious of their own psychology.” Carl Jung, Collected Works Volume 17 In the modern […] The post Carl Jung as Therapist – Your Problems Don’t Lie in the Past first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

When considering how to improve modern day society many people gravitate toward political solutions. Others suggest that we need a sort of revolution of consciousness in which people move to a more enlightened state of being. But there is another path that could lead to social progress that is more practical than either politics or […] The post Why The Western Worldview Limits Human Potential first appeared on Academy of Ideas.