Unthinkable
Unthinkable coumns by Joe Humphreys
Should I start a message with ‘I hope you’re well’? If not well, should I say so?
Suppose I’m in the depths of existential dejection; are you really ready for me to offload my feelings on you?
As Traitors Ireland shows us, you shouldn’t be ashamed to cry
A Polish research project found crying was seen as more authentic when done by men
If AI has a ‘10% chance’ of killing us all by 2030, should I invest in a pension?
The odds on humans still existing by 2030 are almost 90 per cent. Make the most of it
What would your last words be? Here are some of the best deathbed one-liners
In his witty but wise study of death, Terry Eagleton is sceptical of the idea that being close to death offers ‘access to some secret knowledge’. But last words do reveal something
‘If you wake up after a night in Phoenix Park, you think: What is the point?’
Kevin Sludds went from sleeping rough in Dublin to being a psychotherapist. He has lessons to share
For the sake of lost boys, we need to talk about masculinity
Philosopher and author Andy West, who works with young offenders, fears ‘nihilism’ is gaining ground
Why you should quit the coding job and retrain as a philosopher for hire
US philosophy graduates are more likely to have jobs than their computer science peers
Do you sit on the fence? It could be your Irish Mind (but I’m not sure)
For philosopher William Desmond, being Irish is bound up with a ‘sense of doubleness’
Enoch Burke v Glen Hansard: Where is the line when it comes to protest?
There is evidence of shifting attitudes on what constitutes legitimate protest
‘Embrace boredom’ may not be the winning parenting strategy you think
Anyone who uses boredom as a parenting tool is committing child cruelty of sorts. Or, at least, they’re a hypocrite
Stories win elections. So why are some politicians so bad at telling them?
Overconfidence is our enemy. A lesson from ancient Greece can be repurposed today
The Norwegian refusing to row at the World Cup highlights a serious issue
Whatever the situation, you have the power to fold your arms across your chest and say: I’m not going along with this
Divorce is not the reason many kids are growing up without a father figure
Unthinkable: The implication is that the only thing preventing many men from abandoning their children is a breach of contract worry
Ireland vs England in philosophy: Who would win a World Cup of ideas?
Ireland’s contribution to philosophy tends to get overlooked amid patronising commentary about the ‘Celtic soul’
Does your life lack direction? Too much urgency may be to blame
Technology, capitalism and democracy itself seem to be accelerating short-term thinking
More David Attenborough and less Karl Marx would be good for the left
Left-wing parties lack unity on environmental policy as the interests of humans are put ahead of the interests of nature
I don’t want to shoe-shame anyone, but is wearing €500 super shoes on a Parkrun ethical?
Let’s applaud those Parkrun flâneurs in tatty, 10-year-old trainers
Do you take the Peig Sayers or the Friedrich Nietzsche view of life?
Fatalism can be an effective coping mechanism but it’s not good for the world
We need an adult debate on free speech. Some people will be offended
US academic Cass Sunstein, who is visiting Dublin this month, reminds us that college campuses ‘need offensive speech’
Yes, Easter is largely a festival of chocolate. No, that’s not anti-Catholic bias
Catholics are not being persecuted in Ireland but Christian teaching is being ignored - and that’s a pity
Four stories that Albert Camus might choose to tell if he were alive today
Author’s speech 80 years ago, on how ideology is used to excuse or celebrate death, feels suddenly current
Depressed by the news? Be a ‘happy warrior’ - and other tips to raise hope
A warning to pessimists: This column is ‘a no-moan zone’
Pete Hegseth and Pedro Sánchez embody two types of virtue signalling
Unthinkable: Committing publicly to a moral standpoint can change you for the better, or the worse
In Ireland, we’ll talk about anything except the meaning of life
Unthinkable: The voice of the Catholic Church in Irish education should be commended for raising the question of ‘purpose’
A judge says Enoch Burke has ‘free will’. But is that true of any of us?
Unthinkable: Some tips for anyone who feels their thoughts are being polluted by their smartphone, a mad king or even an overbearing parent
‘Be careful of your cat,’ the woman said. Something in me snapped
We love giving unsolicited advice, and we almost universally hate receiving it. It is the junk mail of human interaction
The Leaving Cert points race crushes open-ended dialogue
Dropping ‘risky’ ideas from the curriculum is bad for students
Six qualities make you cool, according to science. Trying too hard isn’t one of them
There’s a lesson here for politicians or political analysts who put great store in image management
Netflix recommendations, IQ scores and Duolingo streaks: the top 5 most useless metrics
Unthinkable: Not all rankings are worth paying attention to, but here’s one that is
Why Donald Trump has the mind of a cat
Making sense of the 47th US president is not easy, but a 17th century philosopher could have the answer
Have you given up alcohol yet? Planned your career pivot? Try the stoics’ approach instead
Unthinkable: Stoicism is not about outcomes, about getting what you want, or even about being happier or healthier
Hate growing old? This advice will help you navigate it
Advice from philosophers, including don’t stop playing, and don’t over-invest in your children
Eoin Lenihan’s Vandalising Ireland proposes an idiosyncratic new direction for Ireland
Unthinkable: We’re all anti-globalist now: an idea of the left has became a rallying call of the right
The chatbot will see you now: is this the future of Irish medicine?
Evidence of AI progress is mounting whereas humans ‘haven’t had a software update in 200,000 years’
Culture wars have come for Dublin’s Winter Lights festival
Posts on X are channelling rage at the wokerati accused of being out to ban Christmas
Dreading Christmas dinner with your family? You may be an otrovert
Psychiatrist Rami Kaminski has identified a new ‘personality style’ but is it just a pleasing label for stubborn individualists?
How to think like a bee and stop comparing yourself with others
Unthinkable: Resentment animates much of our political debate today. Here’s a three-point plan to tackle it
Simon Harris may be wrong about migration figures but he wasn’t dogwhistling
Policing language has damaged progressive causes - it’s time to retire the linguistic ‘harm hunters’
Debate about the role of the Tricolour in a united Ireland fails the logic test
Unthinkable: Fact-checking isn’t enough to save democracy, we need logic-checking
The Catholic thinker behind JD Vance’s religious conversion
Unthinkable: French philosopher René Girard developed a theory of scapegoating. The US vice president has weaponised it
Maybe some of us are just not meant to be president
Unthinkable: Many of us aspire to wealth, status and titles such as ‘president’, even when our vocation lies elsewhere
I tried to stare at this painting for three hours. And something odd happened
Should art be useful and retrain our brains or is it more important than that?
This man spent 15 years translating Plato’s dialogues. What he learned is vital for us all
Plato throws down a challenge to us all on how to engage in free and open-ended public debate
The attention economy has made us less attentive, but there is a solution
Unthinkable: Philosopher Simone Weil died in 1943 aged 34, but she may have had the answer many of us are seeking
Meet the philosopher who thinks AI ought to have the same moral rights as humans
Unthinkable: Better start sucking up to your microwave
Do you suffer from FOCO, a fear of causing offence? Here’s some advice
Unthinkable: Parents may be partly to blame for heightened anxiety among under-30s
Cryptocurrency is financial cocaine for the middle classes
Unthinkable: It’s only a few years since the last global economic crash. Will the next one be worse?
Awareness of your own biases is the best defence against misinformation
‘Much of what is thought of as the misinformation problem is really a mistrust problem’
The trouble with always having to be right
Unthinkable: Open-mindedness is a quality we claim to value. In reality, we discourage it
It’s hard to resist the sense that, deep down, I’m a loser
Unthinkable: Toxic positivity may be exacerbating a sense that we’re losing in life
What did you do if you were young, Irish and idealistic 60 years ago? Join the missions
Unthinkable: Irish missionaries have left an example of positive evangelisation, even if we are seeing the last of them
The next president should be selected by lottery. It could be you
Unthinkable: In an era when crooks and despots cling to power at all costs, Ireland could model a different type of democracy by picking a president at random
Read the headlines and wonder if everyone is on Ozempic and has ADHD? It’s all a bit overwhelming
Unthinkable: If you’re feeling overwhelmed and longing for real meaning, Viktor Frankl may be able to help. And if not, Albert Camus might have the answer
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices