Wisdom and Avoiding the End of the World

August 4, 2019WisdomJohn Messerly

Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham (Latinized as Alhazen c. 965 – c. 1040) was an Arab mathematician, astronomer, and physicist of the Islamic Golden Age.

The World is Full of Damaged Psyches: You Will Live Better if You Avoid Them

August 1, 2014Advice, WisdomJohn Messerly

Wilhelm Wundt (seated) with colleagues in his psychological laboratory, the first of its kind. Let me begin by stating unequivocally that we are all flawed psyches; we are all damaged, we all deviate from psychic harmony. The world is full of damaged psyches.

Dinner For Nietzsche: Rhythms, Rituals, And Eternal Return

January 23, 2023TimeJohn Messerly

Stone where Nietzsche reports having had the inspiration for his ‘eternal return’, with commemorative plaque.1

A Skeptic’s View of the Meaning of Life

December 28, 2022UncategorizedJohn Messerly

I received a correspondence from a reader who wonders about “the triumph of judgment over spontaneity as we emerge from childhood into adulthood and the consequent obstacle it poses for living in psychic comfort.”