Notes on the ineffable
How the psychologist and philosopher William James defined “mystical” experience.
ByPsychology
A surprise cash infusion has the feel of a religious experience
I am relieved of the incessant, humiliating nag of being broke for the rest of the month.
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In praise of herd mentality
The best crowds are joyful expressions of democracy and belonging. So why do we fear them so much?
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How to survive the age of anger
In Josh Cohen’s All the Rage, a psychoanalyst offers a path through the divisive world of online grievance and populist…
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Thought experiment 3: The Gettier Problem
How the American philosopher Edmund Gettier’s argument complicates our understanding of what constitutes knowledge.
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Neuroscientist Charan Ranganath: “People have this illusion that personality is static. It’s not true”
The author of Why We Remember on memory, identity formation and “digital amnesia”.
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The curse of climate brain
Global warming is not only destroying our environment; it is altering the way we think and act – for the…
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How Big Tech rewired childhood
Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation shows how smartphones have damaged the teenage mind – and urges us to fight back.
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Sam Carr Q&A: “We die and are reborn many times”
The psychologist on Jung, Michael Jordan, and what Knight Rider tells us about life’s journey.
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A magic mushroom trip in Amsterdam triggers a revelation
“This isn’t traumatic,” I think smugly, as laughter gives way to visions. Perhaps I have no demons to confront?
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How to escape the self-help trap
Vincent Deary’s exhilarating new book mixes science, philosophy and memoir to argue that self-acceptance is our best defence against the…
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I’m a child psychiatrist – the NHS crisis feels dangerous for those I work with
Long waiting times and cuts to community services have drastically reduced mental health support for young people.
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Carol Gilligan: why I changed my mind on the gender binary
The psychologist was a feminist icon for her work on how gender shapes our morality. But now, in her eighties,…
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Silicon Valley wants to mess with your head
Tech bros are turning consciousness into a political battleground.
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Elaine Kasket’s Q&A: “I used to believe my job was immune to automation”
The psychologist on Sea State by Tabitha Lasley, Andrew Yang and regulating Big Tech.
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Say no to Instagram therapists
Pop therapy promises solutions to problems that might not even exist.
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Clancy Martin: “The best medicine for suicide is to talk about it ”
The Canadian novelist reflects on his life-saving philosophy.
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Pathologies of a president
A new book revisits Freud’s analysis of Woodrow Wilson to ask: how much do leaders’ psychologies shape our politics?
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The new age of perfectionism
Is capitalism itself causing millennial burnout?
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The science of fandom
What communities devoted to hero-worship tell us about the psychology of belonging.
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