The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads tagged with “philosophy”

“Little Prince” Author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on What the Sahara Desert Taught Him About the Meaning of Life
“Little Prince” Author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on What the Sahara Desert Taught Him About the Meaning of Life

“Man is first animated by invisible solicitations.”

read article

The Nature of the Self: Experimental Philosopher Joshua Knobe on How We Know Who We Are
The Nature of the Self: Experimental Philosopher Joshua Knobe on How We Know Who We Are

A mind-bending new understanding of our basic existential anchor.

read article

Big Thinkers on the Only Things Worth Worrying About
Big Thinkers on the Only Things Worth Worrying About

A cross-disciplinary kaleidoscope of intelligent concerns for the self and the species.

read article

Astronaut Chris Hadfield on Success and the Meaning of Life
Astronaut Chris Hadfield on Success and the Meaning of Life

“If you view crossing the finish line as the measure of your life, you’re setting yourself up for a personal disaster.”

read article

Kurt Vonnegut on the Secret of Happiness: An Homage to Joseph Heller’s Wisdom
Kurt Vonnegut on the Secret of Happiness: An Homage to Joseph Heller’s Wisdom

The meaning of life, in a short verse.

read article

John Steinbeck on the Creative Spirit and the Meaning of Life
John Steinbeck on the Creative Spirit and the Meaning of Life

“The free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.”

read article

Maira Kalman on Curiosity, Courage, Happiness, and the Two Keys to a Full Life
Maira Kalman on Curiosity, Courage, Happiness, and the Two Keys to a Full Life

“What protects you in this world from sadness and from the loss of an ability to do something? … Work and love.”

read article

Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far: Sagmeister’s Typographic Maxims on Life, Updated
Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far: Sagmeister’s Typographic Maxims on Life, Updated

Lived wisdom in living lettering.

read article

The Ego and the Universe: Alan Watts on Becoming Who You Really Are
The Ego and the Universe: Alan Watts on Becoming Who You Really Are

“Unless one is able to live fully in the present, the future is a hoax. There is no point whatever in making plans for a future which you will never be able to enjoy.”

read article

The Osprey and the Meaning of Life: The Poetic Physicist Alan Lightman on Science and Our Spiritual Bond with Nature
The Osprey and the Meaning of Life: The Poetic Physicist Alan Lightman on Science and Our Spiritual Bond with Nature

“Faith is the willingness to give ourselves over, at times, to things we do not fully understand… the full engagement with this strange and shimmering world.”

read article

View Full Site

The Marginalian participates in the Bookshop.org and Amazon.com affiliate programs, designed to provide a means for sites to earn commissions by linking to books. In more human terms, this means that whenever you buy a book from a link here, I receive a small percentage of its price, which goes straight back into my own colossal biblioexpenses. Privacy policy. (TLDR: You're safe — there are no nefarious "third parties" lurking on my watch or shedding crumbs of the "cookies" the rest of the internet uses.)