The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) made significant and lasting contributions to nearly every aspect of human knowledge, from logic to biology to ethics and aesthetics. Though overshadowed in classical times by the work of his teacher Plato, from late antiquity through the Enlightenment, Aristotle’s surviving writings were incredibly influential. In Arabic philosophy, he was known simply as “The First Teacher”; in the West, he was “The Philosopher.”
The Athenian philosopher Plato (c.428-347 B.C.) is one of the most important figures of the Ancient Greek world and the entire history of Western thought. In his written dialogues he conveyed and expanded on the ideas and techniques of his teacher Socrates. The Academy he founded was by some accounts the world’s first university and in it he trained his greatest student, the equally influential philosopher Aristotle. Plato’s recurring fascination was the distinction between ideal forms and everyday experience, and how it played out both for individuals and for societies. In the “Republic,” his most famous work, he envisioned a civilization governed not by lowly appetites but by the pure wisdom of a philosopher-king.
Known for his philosophical interests, Marcus Aurelius was one of the most respected emperors in Roman history. He was born into a wealthy and politically prominent family. Growing up, Marcus Aurelius was a dedicated student, learning Latin and Greek. But his greatest intellectual interest was Stoicism, a philosophy that emphasized fate, reason, and self-restraint. Discourses, written by a former slave and Stoic philosopher Epictetus, had a great deal of influence over Marcus Aurelius.
Born Ricardo Eliecer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto in the town of Parral in southern Chile on July 12, 1904, Pablo Neruda led a life charged with poetic and political activity. In 1923 he sold all of his possessions to finance the publication of his first book, Crepusculario ("Twilight"). He published the volume under the pseudonym "Pablo Neruda" to avoid conflict with his family, who disapproved of his occupation. The following year, he found a publisher for Veinte poemas de amor y una cancion desesperada ("Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair"). The book made a celebrity of Neruda, who gave up his studies at the age of twenty to devote himself to his craft.
When Yesika Salgado was a teenager, she liked church so much that she thought she was going to be a nun—but a nagging hunger to kiss a boy got in the way of her marriage to Jesus.
She started exploring sex virtually through party lines and chat rooms. But Salgado, who calls herself a fat, fly poet, was self-conscious about her size, so instead of flirting openly she catfished, talking with guys online using other women’s pictures. Then, after months talking to one of these men, she came clean.
“And he said, ‘why didn’t you let me choose? You didn’t give me the option to choose you,’” Salgado told Latino USA. “And that question changed the rest of everything for me.”
Jasminne Mendez is a Dominican-American poet, playwright, award winning author and podcast host. She is the author of two poetry/prose collections Island of Dreams (Floricanto Press), Night-Blooming Jasmin(n)e: Personal Essays and Poetry(Arte Público Press). Her first full poetry collection, Machete, was a finalist for the Noemi Press Book Award for Poetry and is forthcoming as part of their Akrilica Series in 2022. Her YA memoir A Bucket of Dirty Water: Memories of My Girlhood and her debut picture book Josefina’s Habichuelas(Arte Público Press) will be released in fall 2021. Her work is included in the forthcoming YA Latinx Anthology Wild Tongues Can't be Tamed (Flatiron, Macmillan), edited by Saraciea Fennell, and in The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext (Haymarket Books). She is an MFA graduate of the Creative Writing program at the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University.
Writer Chinua Achebe was born in the village of Ogidi in eastern Nigeria. His father worked for the Church Missionary Society, and his early education was through the society’s school. At the age of eight, Achebe began to learn English. When he was 14, he was one of a few boys selected to attend the government college at Umuahia, which was one of the best schools in west Africa. In 1948, Achebe enrolled at University College, Ibadan, which was a new school. He intended to study medicine, but he soon switched to English literary studies. The college at Ibadan was affiliated with the University of London, and Achebe’s course of study was very similar to that required by the University of London’s honors degree program. While at school, he contributed stories, essays, and sketches to the University Herald; these pieces were collected in Girls at War and Other Stories.
Featured on the cover of TIME Magazine as a Next Generation Leader (June 2021) for their debut memoir DEAR SENTHURAN, Akwaeke Emezi (b. 1987) is an artist and writer based in liminal spaces. Their art practice is located in the metaphysics of Black spirit and uses video, performance, writing, and sculpture to create rituals processing their embodiment as a nonhuman entity/an ogbanje/a deity's child. They are represented by Jacqueline Ko at The Wylie Agency for books, and by Chris Lupo at Verve Talent & Literary Agency for film/TV.
Trevor Noah is the most successful comedian in Africa and is the host of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning The Daily Show on Comedy Central. This year The Daily Show has been nominated for three Emmys, including Outstanding Variety Talk Series. Noah joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in 2014 as a contributor.
Unable to deal with the immediate problem at hand, Arjun approached Shree Krishna for a palliative to overcome the anguish he was experiencing. Shree Krishna did not just advise him on his immediate problem, but digressed to give a profound discourse on the philosophy of life. Hence, the purpose of the Bhagavad Gita, above everything else, is to impart Brahma Vidya, the science of God-realization.
Buddhacarita, also spelled Buddhacharita, in full Buddhacarita-kavya-sutra (Sanskrit: “Poetic Discourse on the Acts of the Buddha”), poetic narrative of the life of the Buddha by the Sanskrit poet Ashvaghosha, one of the finest examples of Buddhist literature. The author, who lived in northern India in the 1st–2nd century CE, created a loving account of the Buddha’s life and teachings, one that—in contrast to other treatments such as the Mahavastu (“Great Story”) and Lalitavistara (“Full Description of the Play [of the Buddha]”)—is both artistically arranged and restrained in its description of miracles. His work also reflects a vast knowledge of Indian mythology and of pre-Buddhist philosophies, plus a court poet’s interest in love, battle, and statecraft. Only the first half of the Buddhacarita remains intact in Sanskrit, but all 28 chapters are preserved in Chinese (5th century) and Tibetan translations.
The Yi King of the Chinese, as a Book of Divination and Philosophy
1: absence of justice : violation of right or of the rights of another : UNFAIRNESS
2: an unjust act : WRONG
1: to bring about or carry out (something, such as a crime or deception) : COMMIT
2: to produce, perform, or execute (something likened to a crime)perpetrate a pun
1: the divine wisdom manifest in the creation, government, and redemption of the world and often identified with the second person of the Trinity
2: reason that in ancient Greek philosophy is the controlling principle in the universe
1: ethics plural in form but singular or plural in construction : the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation
2: a set of moral principles : a theory or system of moral values
the sense or consciousness of the moral goodness or blameworthiness of one's own conduct, intentions, or character together with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good