Meet Aspasia of Miletus (d. about 400 BCE), a philosopher whose life illustrates that no matter how important and interesting a person’s ideas are, if no one records them, their impact fades. Certainly the most important female philosopher from the Ancient Greek past, Aspasia’s actual intellectual contributions are unknown to us. What we know is […]
Ancient Romans Aspasia of Miletus Read More »
I extend this woman a formal invitation to my imaginary dinner party of Fascinating People I Want to Talk to. Here is Susanne Langer, and she is one of the most famous women philosophers in modern American history.I know: it’s a small club. But that shouldn’t detract from Langer’s accomplishments. Born in New York to
Susanne Langer – Art in Human Cognition Read More »
Ever hear of the philosophical puzzle called “the trolley problem”? It’s a famous way to make you realize that your instincts might not match up with your ideas about morality. Namely, most people would elect to throw a trolley switch that would take it off its course if it would kill only one person instead
Philippa Foot and “The Trolley Problem” Read More »
Let’s embrace our 14-year-old selves and discuss the funniest toilet humor in Ancient history. Appropriately, it’s found in a bar — in a tavern room from the late first/mid-second century Roman port city called Ostia Antica. The entire space is taken up with jokes about shi*ting – patrons could order wine while reading the walls.Known
Ancient Roman “Room of the Seven Sages” Read More »
The Hebrew Bible or Christian Old Testament was averse to using vulgarity. This applied to basic human anatomy: instead of having the word penis, for instance, it might record “member,” “side,” or “flesh.” Women’s labia could be referred to as “hand.” Why?, you may ask? It had to do with the high-falutin’ genre of the
Old Christian Testament Averse to Vulgarity Read More »
Shield your eyes, my dainty ones, if you find this image overly shocking. But know that Medieval Europeans would not have found it so. You are looking at a row of phalluses carrying a crowned vulva on a bier. And this object is a type of pilgrimage badge — someone might have worn it to
Pious Phalluses and Holy Vulvas Read More »
You are looking at one of the first written appearances of the f-word. (The other two contenders are a version in Scottish dialect and a Latin/English coded poem.) Written in 1528 by a monk-scribe in the margins of a book he was copying, this low-key graffiti artist was slandering his boss, the Abbot.This small scribble
The First F-Word in the World Read More »
Finishing up this week’s theme of swearing in history, I turn now to the Victorian Age. In the 18th and 19th centuries, British and American elites became increasingly self-vigilant about avoiding words that might make them think about, you know, sex. And this took a lot of energy, so they ended up thinking about it
Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure Read More »
In light of the times we are a-livin’ in right now, I thought it might be interesting to do a series this week on the history of conspiracy theories. The first photo you see here is one that just won’t go away, no matter how much evidence gets stacked against it time and time again.
The Rumored Protocols of Zion Read More »
Here’s a very old conspiracy theory for you: the spurious accusations against the Knights Templars. As you can see from this late-15th century depiction, the charges were successful and many of the leaders were burned as a result.So if you don’t know, the Knights Templar was a religious order started to help protect Christians seeking
The Knights Templar Read More »
Onto our third conspiracy theory in history for the week, which is the burning of Bridget Cleary. This takes us back to Ireland in 1895, when a man called Michael Cleary set his wife Bridget on fire because he believed that his “real” wife had been taken by fairies and replaced by a changeling. Several
The Burning of Bridget Cleary Read More »
Conspiracy theories abounded in Ancient Rome: court intrigues were constantly at play among the Senatorial aristocracy, since favoritism and personal alliances rather than a democratically based bureaucracy brought power. And thus we come to the sad end of Stilicho, the barbarian leader who served Rome in the waning days of the Western Empire.Stilicho was half-Vandal,
Conspiracy Theories of Ancient Rome – Stilicho Read More »
In our final conspiracy theory for the week, I feature early Christian cannibals!Not really. But partaking in cannibalism and sexual orgies were rumors that Ancient Romans persistently leveled at Christians. The Christians in this second-century Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome were not, in fact, devouring human flesh, but rather the bread in the ritual “agape
Christian Cannibals Conspiracy Theory Read More »
This picture is neither a coffee stain nor a bad tattoo, but rather a fossil from one of the most important places that evolutionary scientists study the emergence of complex life: the fossils of Burgess Shale in British Columbia.Burgess Shale fossils date from the period of the Cambrian Explosion (525-505 million years ago), when “all
Burgess Shale Fossil in British Columbia Read More »
Evolution brings a sense of humility like nothing else can. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to our ancestors? Featured on the first slide is “Kimberella,” probably the oldest of the “protostome” fossils, dating 255 million years ago – from before the pre-Cambrian explosion.“Aha,” you might be thinking. “That doesn’t look like even the
Kimberella – the Oldest Protostome Fossil Read More »
Here is a picture of two of the most famous hands in art history, and they go along with a not-very-famous but super important story about how human hands evolved.“Nature does not invent very often completely from scratch,” writes evolutionary biologist Sean B. Carroll, “rather, it remodels its existing structures with took kit genes that
Hand Evolution From Progenitors Read More »
“The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, is one of degree and not of kind,” wrote Charles Darwin, in his famous _The Descent of Man_ in 1871. And evolutionary biologists still agree. So then what makes the mental capacities of Homo Sapiens and other hominid apes so different?Two
Brain Size in Homo Sapiens Read More »
Wanna know the difference between this kid and a chimpanzee? So do evolutionary biologists . . . And with the use of genetic studies, scientists recently have figured out two additional ways that we Homo Sapiens differ from our common primate chimp ancestors from six to eight million years ago. They have to do with
Genetic Differences Between Children and Chimpanzee’s Read More »
This week, I am looking at hair in Medieval history, and I am starting with the dudes. It turns out that the barbarians of the Early Middle Ages cared a great deal about styling their locks. Careful attention to cut and style announced a “je ne sais quoi” about masculenity and power.For instance, featured in
Early Middle Ages and Barbarian Men’s Hairstyles Read More »
Hairstyles give a lot of information to others — sometimes even more than clothing, because they are both changeable but also part of the body. For Medieval men, having long hair meant high social status in many cultures. The English before the Norman Conquest of 1066 are a case in point — as you can
Medieval Men’s Hair and Their Social Status Read More »
