Silence is something we are all familiar with, but it is also very enigmatic. When a person remains quiet, is something communicated or nothing at all? Scholars, linguists, and psychologists have debated this for centuries as to whether silence is communication,...
The dream of immortality has fascinated human fancy for millennia. From ancient fable and legend of gods and mythic heroes to modern speculation regarding biotechnology and computer intelligence, the dream of immortality raises fundamental questions on ethics,...
Consciousness is the greatest mystery of life. To be self-knowing, to think, to question, to invent, seems both miraculous and burdensome. Human beings, uniquely among animals, are able to withdraw themselves from the immanence of existence and introspect upon their...
Perfection is the bane of the human psyche. It appears in art, mathematics, ethics, and even in life as a goal. We desire to render beauty flawless, knowledge exhaustive, morality untainted, or life unblemished. But the perfection chaser bears with it an irony: the...
Time is the most tolerated aspect of life. We measure it in clocks, calendars, and schedules, dividing our days down to the relentless tick-tock of seconds, minutes, and hours. But when scientists and philosophers examine more carefully, time as a more elusive and...
One of the most characteristic aspects of modern life is an abundance of choice. Every day, we decide where we go, what we eat, what we watch, who we spend time with, and how we dress. In theory, freedom to choose is a pleasant thing: it allows us to shape our lives,...
Human history is usually viewed in retrospect as a story of progress. We assure ourselves that with every invention, discovery, or social change humanity makes, human kind moves forward, civilization learning from the mistakes of past years. Technology grows...
The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence has forced man to raise questions previously the sole prerogative of science fiction or philosophy. Machines are not just tools supplementing man's abilities anymore; machines are devices that have the capacity to make...
Time appears to be the most mechanical element of our existence. We sleep, get on with the day, dwell on yesterday, and dwell on tomorrow. But when philosophers attempt to investigate time in depth, its very essence appears to slip through their fingers. What is the...