Philosophy, thinkers and the lessons that have stood the test of centuries.
35 articles
Kierkegaard lived only 42 years and most of his contemporaries saw him as a strange figure of Copenhagen. Today he is regarded as a forerunner of existentialism and one of the deepest thinkers on anxiety and choice.
By 20, John Stuart Mill had read more than most professors. Then a simple question floored him: if I achieved everything I want, would I be happy? The answer was "no".
In 1784 a Berlin journal asked: what is enlightenment? The answer of a professor from Königsberg took up only a few pages, but it contained one of the best-known sayings of modern philosophy.
At 23 Spinoza was expelled from his community with a ban of rare severity. He lived simply, grinding lenses, and wrote one of the boldest books in European philosophy.
In the fourteenth century a diplomat and judge from Tunis withdrew to a remote fortress and wrote an introduction to history. That introduction became one of the most valued works of social thought.
In 1932 one of the best-known philosophers of the twentieth century wrote that belief in "the virtue of work" was doing people harm. His arguments sound surprisingly current.
Darwin noticed that facts contradicting his theory were forgotten far more easily than those that supported it. So he created a simple rule, which today we would call a defence against confirmation bias.
By 18, according to his autobiography, he had learned almost everything the scholars of his time knew. But one book by Aristotle remained incomprehensible to him, until a chance purchase in the market changed everything.
The ancient Greeks placed the saying "Know thyself" at the entrance to one of the most important temples of their world. Two and a half thousand years later, science is showing why this task is so hard.
She was born into an Albanian family in Skopje and died as one of the best-known women in the world. Her life was built on a simple idea: to serve those whom no one loves.
In July 1845 a young writer built a cabin by Walden Pond and lived there for two years. The book he wrote about the experience still inspires those who want less noise and more meaning.
When he came out of prison in 1990, Mandela was 71. Many expected revenge. He chose to build a country where former enemies could live together.
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