In The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, Jonathan Haidt contrasts two fundamentally different ways of growing up: a play-based childhood versus a phone-based childhood. The shift from physical, open-ended play to structured, screen-driven interaction has changed how children explore the world and socialize, with significant…
Joker: On the Folly of (Total) Branding
“Joker: Folie à Deux” extends the disturbing narrative of Arthur Fleck to a point where it can no longer be extended. We find him trapped in a double bind, caught between his lived reality and the weight of his Joker persona—a “brand” that was initially his means of escape, his line of flight, now confines…
Phenomenological Psychology as Rigorous Science (Wendt, 2024)
Alexander Nicolai Wendt’s recent book, Phenomenological Psychology as Rigorous Science, attempts to build a much-needed bridge between psychology and philosophy. The presence of such a bridge has always been vital for psychology, as Wilhelm Wundt argued in his 1913 essay “Psychology’s Struggle for Existence,” and I hope others would join Wendt in building it. Wendt…
Scenes of Clerical Life: Reading George Eliot’s Short Stories – June to August 2024
Following our discussions on Albert Camus’ Exile and the Kingdom, we will turn our attention to George Eliot’s Scenes of Clerical Life. We will have a series of six sessions, two sessions dedicated to each of Eliot’s short stories, from June 22nd to July 27th. Here is the plan: Story 1. “The Sad Fortunes Of…
Exile and the Kingdom: Reading Albert Camus’ Short Stories (May & June 2024)
Announcing the book and schedule of our reading group (Davood’s book club) for May and June 2024. We’ll be reading Exile and the Kingdom by Albert Camus (translated by Carol Cosman).