Last year I did a course on a topic completely unrelated to my academic background - a course at Oxford on the 'Philosophy of Ethics'. The course choice was driven by questions I have about what is the right thing to do - a question we often face in our work and personal lives. We had 4 months of (online recorded) lectures, discussions with ‘classmates’ (all online) and multiple assignments. It was an intense journey and so insightful! Sharing below some of my theoretical and practical lessons from the course: Overall, we delved deep into four major theories on ethics: Virtue ethics by Aristotle : According to Aristotle, the right action is the one that would be chosen by a virtuous person, and the virtuous person would know what is right, will do what is right and does it for the right reasons. In this theory, reason trumps everything else and is the only driver of virtuous actions. Also, Eudaimonia (happiness) is the aim of life. Eudaimonia is a lifelong pursuit that ...
Ask yourself a few questions today Do you feel your mind is always whirring, always running? Jumping from one to the next to-do? Planning the day ahead without pausing enough for the moment now? Even when you are ‘relaxing’? Do you feel you are always running to deadlines, whether at work, or even in personal life? Even when you may not have to? Do you sometimes feel guilty when you have free time, and you don’t do something ‘productive’ with it? Do you feel a pressure to always multi-task? To listen to a book or podcast while running? To read something while in the tube? To do something on your laptop while watching tv? To check your phone while having a conversation with a friend? Do you find it tough to sit and focus on one task for too long, without your mind wandering somewhere else? Do you find yourself unable to just read a book or exercise, without getting distracted with something else, especially your phone? Do you find it difficult to stay aw...
The Thyssen was my favourite museum of the ones I went to in Madrid. And it has an interesting history. This museum showcases paintings collected by the Thyssen-Bornemisza family over the years, one of the largest personal art collections in the world. Even though the Baron was German and wanted to have the display in Germany itself, it ended up shifting to Spain, in the 1990s. Of course, the fact that he was married to a Spanish woman had a part to play in it 😜. (You can see the museum in 360 view here ) The museum houses some 1600 paintings, some of which the Spanish government bought from the family and the rest are loaned to the museum for a couple of years at a time. Since it is a personal collection, the pieces here span from pre-renaissance times all the way up to modern artists of the 20th century. And the display provides a sort of highlight of the painting styles over the centuries. Galleries of Thyssen The museum is spread over three floors with paintings ...
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