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Social Media Sirenading Us to Death

The Sirens and Ulysses by William Etty, 1837 Just when I figured I had plumbed the depths of capitalism’s toxicity, I came across yet more proof; in fact, the apotheosis of toxicity. The toxicity to end all toxicity. Chris Hayes’ The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource (2025) describes how, with […]
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Solitary Confinement

At least as one response to the perceived failures of the French Revolution, some of what became the Romantic movements in the 19th century turned away from social interaction, especially collective activity, and toward individual isolation. Such a reaction was not peculiar to this period. In fact, withdrawal from social contact was an established niche […]
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Self-Identity and Conscientious Non-Compliance

What of our highly active, frenetic daily lives in the early 21st century? Substantial effort is expended in developing marketable skills, in order to earn money and survive. Yet, within the oppressive constraints imposed on us every day, each person may nonetheless nurture an inner, contemplative space, perhaps ultimately unshareable but all-the-more uniquely individual for […]