Self-help is a tricky subject. Depending on the audience, it can provoke intense sympathy and intense skepticism. A dismissive attitude toward the current self-help culture can point to the lack of substance and depth in the popular material, the deceitful and self-serving “gurus,” the hyper-optimism of followers, the fixation with “positive thinking,” the unrealistic promises,…
Category: Education
Videos on Sigmund Freud
Here, I’ve gathered some of the videos I’ve posted about Freud. You can watch them in the order listed below. Feel free to share your comments or questions on this page or directly under the videos on YouTube. I regularly check comments and do my best to respond. Freud: A Very Short Introduction (Anthony Storr,…
Reading Groups, Like-Mindedness, & Participation
Intellect finds itself, not only in solitary activity, but also–perhaps primarily–in group settings. Even in adulthood, there are aspects of our intellect that remain invisible to us until we engage in the right conversation, or in the right playful mood, when we share the present moment with someone. If you have intellectual inclinations, you probably…
Interview with Marc Applebaum
Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with Marc Applebaum. We talked about his experience and education in psychological research and about how his interest was first developed in phenomenology. We also talk about phenomenological attitude, the importance of empathy with the experience of another human being, the connection between knowing someone and the style…
The Solitude of Teaching
The teacher’s solitude is a burden as much as it is a necessity. This necessary burden is the product of a boundary we ought to protect. The teacher must absorb his or her disappointments, rather than react to them immediately and impulsively. Although the classroom is a “home,” for both the teacher and the students,…