Raise your hand and wait to be called on to speak. Ask permission to go to the bathroom. Get a hall pass. Surrender your electronic devices. Report to detention. Let’s be honest: we would be insulted if we were asked to do these things in order to go about our daily lives. Yet this is…
Here’s a brief lesson in critical thinking: Concerning the truth of any given proposition, there are three possible stances one can take: 1) Affirmation: “I believe the proposition to be true!” 2) Negation: “I believe the proposition to be false!” 3) Suspension of judgment: “I lack sufficient evidence, knowledge, or data to confidently affirm or deny the proposition’s…
“I criticize by creation – not by finding fault.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero In a college introductory philosophy course, my professor stood before the class and displayed the following words on the projection screen: “The Ontological Argument by St. Anselm.” Then he spent the next two class periods carefully elucidating an 11th century theologian’s reasoning…
One of the commonly cited problems with a great deal of self-help philosophy is the overemphasis on positive thinking, affirmations, visualization techniques, and other motivational tools that produce short-term inspiration but that often fail to help people create lasting changes. On a recent episode of the Accidental Creative podcast, Todd Henry addresses this issue in…
The Praxis Fall 2014 class recently completed its study of our entrepreneurship curriculum, my own favorite of the eight modules. We encountered works from a number of entrepreneurs and thinkers, including Seth Godin, Reid Hoffman, and Peter Thiel (whose curriculum contribution Zak has covered in the past). This module’s focus on the grit, ingenuity, and moral courage required to create something…
It has often (thankfully) been pointed out that schooling does not make an education. Most people would not disagree that it is possible to be learned without an institution or to be ignorant with credentials. However, I think that there is a case to be made that those with a love for ideas can gain a distinct…
“Wielded wisely, No is an instrument of integrity and a shield against exploitation. It often takes courage to say. It is hard to receive. But setting limits sets us free.” -Judith Sills Warren Buffet wrote, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” By “almost…
Today’s post is from returning guest author Mathew Knudson, a student, tutor, and RA at Temple University who is currently majoring in Economics and Mathematics. You can contact him here and connect with him on LinkedIn here. View his previous post on the Praxis blog. “But it wasn’t my fault!” is perhaps one of the most often used excuses in…
The new Praxis class is more than two weeks into the program and the participants are currently diving deep into the first curriculum module, Philosophy. So far it’s been an exciting and challenging experience for them as they question their assumptions they currently hold and develop their critical thinking skills. While participants are free to explore…
Entrepreneurship and productivity magazines are rife with articles and posts about how you can “launch your company without any seed money!” or “make progress on your venture today!” These articles can be useful for helping you make incremental progress on an idea you already have, but what if you don’t have a project yet? There’s…
“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his…
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. ” –Steve Jobs…
Why isn’t every individual their own company, or an independent contractor? There are some very good reasons, but new technology is beginning to change the equation… One of my favorite economists, Ronald Coase, famously postulated that companies, or “firms,” exist because the transaction costs of engaging in tons of exchanges with tons of individual contractors…
The day I ended my silence Three years ago, I decided to embark on an experiment in personal development by making a one year commitment to writing and publishing a new blog post every day. I wanted to see what would become of me if I forced myself to share my thoughts with the world irrespective…
The most valuable work experience I ever had was when I installed telephone and computer cables and got businesses set up with (new at the time) high speed internet. I was only in my late teens, but the owner gave me a lot of responsibility. I would pack up the company truck, sometimes with another…