Psychology Today

Who are Rey’s parents? Why exactly did Luke go into hiding? Who is Supreme Leader Snoke? What’s the deal with Kylo’s lightsaber? Careful reasoning might reveal the answer.

Imagine how people would wince and complain if they had to write a weekly, monthly, or yearly check for the full amount due in taxes. Can you feel the pain of those of us who hold on to the money we have earned for nearly three months before paying part of it in quarterly estimated taxes?

No, I don’t believe THAT Bigfoot exists. I just believe it is possible. What’s more, I believe IN Bigfoot. I believe IN Bigfoot the way I would believe IN a friend’s innocence even if I didn’t believe THAT he was innocent. I believe IN Bigfoot precisely because I don’t believe IN much else.

Hollywood writer Eric Kaplan, known for his work on "The Big Bang Theory," has a book that (it's been said) uses philosophy to hilariously examine the question of Santa's existence. Unfortunately, it's ultimately just a thinly veiled attempt to argue for God's existence and his variety of Jewish Mysticism.

Perhaps surprisingly, Adam Smith does not recommend the pursuit of fame and fortune. Instead, he says that we naturally desire to be loved and to be lovely. Happiness requires being worthy of respect and esteem.

The critics lampooned Transcendence as just another movie about the idea that technology and computers are dangerous. But, it turns out, it’s a movie about just how dangerous that idea is.

Loathing is closely tied to feelings of disgust or annoyance, and it does not necessarily involve resentment. Additionally, loathing seems to be triggered by direct stimulation whereas hatred can persist without direct stimulation. There’s a subjective and irrational element to loathing. So what’s the solution? Tolerance? Loathe and let loathe?

Chua and Rubenfeld argue that a triple-package culture, characterized by a superiority complex, a sense of insecurity, and impulse control, leads to success. That may be, but Nietzsche shows us that it's an even better explanation of individual success.

American Atheists erected an "anti-prayer" billboard adjacent to this year's Super Bowl stadium. Will this dissuade the half of Americans who believe that the supernatural plays a roll in determining the outcome of sporting events, like the Super Bowl? Should Christians themselves be criticizing the idea that God plays a roll in determining the outcome of sporting events?

“Santa just is white" said Fox News' Megyn Kelly, and all hell broke lose. But what she right? Since Santa is not real, this turns out to be a philosophical question--and it's not one that is easy to answer.

The 50th anniversary special of Doctor Who raises serious questions. Do we now have to renumber the doctors? Yes, in fact, we do. Despite what Steven Moffat says, John Hurt is the 9th doctor.

Black Sabbath and philosophy are the best combination since peanut butter and chocolate. When Ozzy wails “dying is easy it’s living that’s hard” over Iommi’s surreal, bluesy riff you know it’s true. And you know in a flash what existentialism is in a way you never could by reading Sartre.

A fitting tribute to the life of Slayer’s Jeff Hanneman would be to not have a drink in his memory.

Joplin saw himself as a classical musician in the tradition of Chopin and Wagner. But he was also an African-American, the son of a slave. That meant that no one else saw him the way he saw himself.