The Western Mind’s Roots in the Body
June 9, 2024
Ancient Greeks’ minds had many deep roots, including the body. Their especially intense love of athletic games helped encourage them to assume that reality is
Ancient Athenian Democracy’s Roots in the Theater
June 8, 2024
Theater was yet another type of experience that reinforced ancient Greeks’ views of the world. It converged with many other experiences, including law, agriculture, the
Roots of Democracy and Philosophy in Ancient Athens
June 7, 2024
Like thought in other cultures, ancient Greek thought converged from many aspects of life. Politics was one, and most ancient Athenians were obsessed with politics.
The I Ching in Chinese Culture
June 3, 2024
The I Ching is also based on the idea of the primacy of cyclic energy flows, and it has been one of the most influential
Inner Depths in Confucian Assumptions about Reality
June 1, 2024
Chinese intellectual traditions have usually considered the universe to be highly resonant and less partitioned into distinct domains, as Westerners have often emphasized. The last
From Line to Cyclic Flow; Western and Chinese Thought
May 31, 2024
Several recent articles here explored depths in Westerners’ emphasis on abstract lines and distinct objects. But neither has been a central concept in China, where
Elephants Are Rainclouds? India’s Religious Imagination in Full Flight
May 29, 2024
Many ancient Indians believed that clouds are elephants’ celestial relatives. They actually called an elephant “Cloud” (Megha) when they honored it. According to Heinrich Zimmer,
From Line to Flower; The Italian Renaissance Spreads to France
May 28, 2024
France’s King Francois I played a leading role in importing the Italian Renaissance to his land while reigning from 1515 to 1547, and his physique
From Line to Peaks; The Italian Renaissance Travels to Germany
May 26, 2024
Dear Lord, let the people you love most live in this land! I often appreciated this old Bavarian prayer while savoring its beautiful mountains and
Ancient Laos Is Still Alive
May 25, 2024
The kings of the Lan Xang Empire unified their realm by importing Indian traditions, including Buddhist monasteries and court dances that dramatized the Ramayana. But