The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Search results for “McRaney”

Beethoven and the Art of Amends
Beethoven and the Art of Amends

“When friends are at variance, it is always better to employ no mediator, but to communicate directly with each other.”

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The Ethics of Belief: The Great English Mathematician and Philosopher William Kingdon Clifford on the Discipline of Doubt and How We Can Trust a Truth
The Ethics of Belief: The Great English Mathematician and Philosopher William Kingdon Clifford on the Discipline of Doubt and How We Can Trust a Truth

“It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.”

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Virginia Woolf on How Our Illusions Keep Us Alive
Virginia Woolf on How Our Illusions Keep Us Alive

“Life is a dream. ‘Tis waking that kills us. He who robs us of our dreams robs us of our life.”

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How to Disagree: Amin Maalouf on the Key to Intelligent Dissent and Effective Criticism
How to Disagree: Amin Maalouf on the Key to Intelligent Dissent and Effective Criticism

“To approach someone else convincingly you must do so with open arms and head held high, and your arms can’t be open unless your head IS high.”

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How a Zen Master Responds to Hate Mail
How a Zen Master Responds to Hate Mail

“Your situation, your condition, your opinions — throw them all away.”

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How to Make Difficult Decisions: Benjamin Franklin’s Pioneering Pros and Cons Framework
How to Make Difficult Decisions: Benjamin Franklin’s Pioneering Pros and Cons Framework

A worksheet for the moral mathematics of decision-making from America’s original prophet of self-improvement.

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James Baldwin and Chinua Achebe’s Forgotten Conversation About Beauty, Morality, and the Political Power of Art
James Baldwin and Chinua Achebe’s Forgotten Conversation About Beauty, Morality, and the Political Power of Art

“Those who tell you ‘Do not put too much politics in your art’ are not being honest. If you look very carefully you will see that they are the same people who are quite happy with the situation as it is… What they are saying is don’t upset the system.”

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How to Treat the Symptoms of a Rising Reputation: David Hume on the Only Adequate Response to Haters
How to Treat the Symptoms of a Rising Reputation: David Hume on the Only Adequate Response to Haters

On choosing the turn of mind that expands your happiness rather than contracting it.

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Galileo on Critical Thinking and the Folly of Believing Our Preconceptions
Galileo on Critical Thinking and the Folly of Believing Our Preconceptions

“To divine that wonderful arts lie hid behind trivial and childish things is a conception for superhuman talents.”

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Michael Faraday on Mental Discipline and How to Cure Our Propensity for Self-Deception
Michael Faraday on Mental Discipline and How to Cure Our Propensity for Self-Deception

“That point of self-education which consists in teaching the mind to resist its desires and inclinations, until they are proved to be right, is the most important of all.”

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