What Would Socrates Do?

From childhood, we're taught that honesty is the best policy. Yet in everyday life, we hedge, soften our words, and leave things unsaid. This week, we talk with psychologist Steven Pinker about why indirect speech is such a fundamental part of human relationships. How long can yo ...  Show more

Think about the last time a piece of music stopped you in your tracks, or a novel kept you up late at night. Why do these experiences feel so powerful? Psychobiologist Daisy Fancourt says engagement with the arts can help to regulate our emotions, build resilience, and support lo ...  Show more

Today we talk about the lessons found in the ancient Greek play titled Hecuba. We talk about the great Stoic ethicists Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. We talk about Martha Nussbaum and her work looking to infuse classical Stoic ideas with all that we've learned in the scie ...  Show more

In this podcast Eckhart talks with a live audience in Greece. He kicks off the session discussing the spiritual wisdom of ancient Greek philosophers. Among the most renowned was Socrates who humbly said, “I am the only one who knows that he knows nothing.” Eckhart believes Socrat ...  Show more

Kelly tracks down Yale Philosophy professor and the Dean of Arts & Sciences, Tamar Gendler, to discuss the great ancient philosophers’ take on our human nature and how it relates to modern happiness. Dean Gendler's studied academic and historical perspective on what makes us tick ...  Show more

The Greek thinker Socrates was put to death for encouraging his students to question everything - from their own beliefs to the laws and customs of Athenian society. But his ideas didn't die with him.  Here's a chance to hear two episodes from our archive examining the legacy of ...  Show more