Edward O. Wilson is simultaneously one of my intellectual heroes and someone who frustrates me enormously, and these conflicting feelings were once again stirred as I read his most recent book, The ...

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), the Scottish author celebrating his 225th birthday on the 4th of December, was a towering figure in 19th-century literature, praised by everyone from Ralph Waldo Emerson ...

Whichever side of an issue you’re on, it’s likely that at the root of what gets you fired up are deep, fundamental human ...

Justice Anthony Kennedy didn’t invent the shift from community to autonomy, but in 1992 he articulated it more crisply than anyone else: “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own ...

1. The reason we exist: The meaning of meaning -- Solving the riddle of the human species -- Evolution and our inner conflict -- 2. The unity of knowledge: The new enlightenment -- The all-importance ...

How often do we stop to think about the meaning of life? If you’re like me, probably not much. Even though I may feel a vague sense of anxiety around how my life is unfolding and the inevitability of ...