Oh, the Symbols You’ll See, the Stories You’ll Tell

OUR WORLD IS AWASH IN SYMBOLS, VIBRATING WITH MEANING. In order to grasp the meaning, of course, you have to be able to recognize a symbol, when you see one. Everyone knows “fine art” is full of symbols. The meaning in a painting, a drawing, a print, a piece of sculpture unfolds when you engage …

René Descartes, Meet Peggy Lee

“EGO” IS IMPLIED IN DESCARTES’ (IN)FAMOUS EPIGRAM: “COGITO ERGO SUM.” In English, it’s explicit: “I think, therefore I am.” I feel it should be emphatic. Intended to be a statement that could not be denied, Descartes’ epigram only holds in a world without Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Sufism, or any form of self-transcending mystical experience. As …