What would Albert Camus make of us? Eighty years ago, the French-Algerian author gave a famous speech in New York, The Human Crisis, exploring how “in today’s world we can contemplate the death or the torture of a human being with a feeling of indifferenc... See more
Depressed by the news? Be a ‘happy warrior’ - and other tips to raise hope They say people get grumpier the older they get. But my mother disproved that theory. As her health declined, she used to bat away negativity, saying “This is a no-moan zone”. Toda... See more
What ever happened to the idea of teaching philosophy in schools? More than 15 years ago, a report of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) identified “an existing gap in senior cycle education in the area of social and political scien... See more
What does it take to be cool? A group of researchers last year claimed to have cracked the code, identifying six criteria for coolness. Cool people were generally seen as extrovert, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous, according to the ... See more
I visited the Museo del Prado in Madrid some years ago. It was memorable mainly because I spent the whole trip trying to find all the paintings on a “top 20 must-see” list of museum artworks. What was meant to be an opportunity to marvel at the works of E... See more
