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Is death a force?
For thousands of years, humans have perceived death as a force in itself. Death is something that can come and take, and so on. On the other hand, life is often overlooked as a force. No one perceives life as an entity with agency, but we all seem to perceive death that way. I would…
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Difference between Children and Adults: Life and Death
A few weeks ago, a remarkable discovery was reported in Kaiseraugst, Switzerland: a well-preserved Roman road along with adjacent buildings. In addition to various artifacts, archaeologists also uncovered several infant burial sites. The burial of small children in or near the home was not uncommon. Traditionally, people were cremated and buried outside city boundaries, but…
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Ancient Beer and Wine
A little while back, I completed a project about beer and its role in modern China. That research sparked my curiosity about the place of beer in the ancient world and how ancient traditions continue to influence drinking culture today. Firstly, in 20th century China, beer was viewed as a drink of the more progressive,…
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Change and Progress
Many people today believe change and progress to be identical. Changemakers are viewed as inherently positive forces. Children are encouraged to change the world, with the assumption that the change will be guaranteed to be positive. This cannot be further from the truth. Most Americans believe that at least one of the last two presidents…
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Mixed Constitutions
Government building is a careful craft. If the state shifts too far toward benefitting one group or another and disadvantaging the remainder of the populace, unrest and revolution begin to brew. But where is the middle point? How does one balance the interests of the oligarchs and the democrats, which are so incompatible? To tackle…
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Justice
As I discussed in my last post, the Greeks have a different conception of justice. The Greeks viewed justice as everything in its right place. What I found interesting is the divide among Greeks as to what the right order is. The difference can teach us a great deal about how different groups in society…
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Greek Philosophical Terms and Premises vs. Their Modern Counterparts
When discussing any topic, having the same basic premises and understandings is critically important. When those aren’t present, you’re essentially talking on two different planes. The involved parties are, in reality, discussing different topics, although they often don’t realize it. This is the problem facing the modern reader when they attempt the philosophy of the…
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Still
The Room was unkempt. The floor was dusty. The curtains were colorfully discolored. Walls carelessly adorned. One with wrinkling posters. One with a lone cross. A thousand dying eyes staring down at mountains of filth.Books. Boxes. Dirty Blotches. Things Left Behind.Gifts received and gifts still waiting.Drawers full. Closets betraying dirty secrets.Not-yet-washed laundry stood motionless.A single…
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The Roman Business Scene and Lessons on Business–State Relations
I recently stumbled upon a rather old TEDx talk by Tao Tan. Tao discusses a few interesting topics. First, he discusses the presence of many modern business institutions, including stock exchanges and private equity. In itself, this is very interesting. These institutions appeared 2000 years ago and then disappeared before making a comeback in the…