philosophy – Keith R Wilson

The Perils of Understanding

And how your prejudices can help you understand better I once worked as a therapist with a deaf female client in my office by having her type what she wanted to say to me, as I typed to her. I didn’t know much sign language but was eager to show off what little I had.Continue reading “The Perils of Understanding”

Looking for My Father in Emerson’s Essays

I recently opened for the first time, a volume of essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson from the collection of old books in my library that I have never read. I was surprised to find that my father, whom I must’ve gotten the book from, noted on the title page that he had read it threeContinue reading “Looking for My Father in Emerson’s Essays”

Upheavals of Thought

Bringing you the best of mental health every week. The emotions could use some better PR. They have been blamed for everything from each personal crisis to the insanity that is called this year’s election. We shrinks have mobilized the troops of rationality and have sharpened the swords of Stoicism, recast as Cognitive BehavioralContinue reading “Upheavals of Thought”

The Shrink’s Links: Karl Popper and the Refrigerator Light

Bringing you the best of mental health every week. I got on an energy-saving kick once and became concerned about the light inside the refrigerator. Did it really turn off when I shut the door? Little did I realize how this question took me to a place shared with one of the most renown ofContinue reading “The Shrink’s Links: Karl Popper and the Refrigerator Light”

The Shrink’s Links: After Virtue

Bringing you the best of mental health every week. If you’re interested in living a good life, you first need to know what the good life is. To figure this out, try studying philosophy. There’s no better person to do this with than Alasdair MacIntyre, who wrote After Virtue. When you do philosophy, you can’tContinue reading “The Shrink’s Links: After Virtue”