Master Timeline
30 Phil, Chapter 8, Plato, Touchstone 21: Ignorance is Bliss. The concept of “Ignorance is bliss” says being uninformed or unaware of certain truths can lead to greater happiness. Take, for example, germophobes—people who are excessively concerned about germs. Constant awareness and meticulous research about germs and contamination could elevate their levels of stress, affecting […]
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30 Phil, Chapter 8, Plato, Touchstone 20: Reflective Inquiry. Reflective inquiry is the act of exploring and examining one’s own thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions to clear the illusions of life. It encourages a constant state of self-assessment, providing a foundation for intellectual growth based on a more authentic life. For example, with the Socratic Method,
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In a testament to our understanding of evolution, archosaurs emerged around 255 million years ago, eventually giving rise to dinosaurs about 230 million years ago. Bridging this gap, the dinosauromorphs – a transitional group between archosaurs and dinosaurs – evolved approximately 245 million years ago. One notable early dinosauromorph is Asilisaurus kongwe, found in present-day
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The earliest known dinosaur is Nyasasaurus parringtoni, which lived during the Middle Triassic period, around 243 million years ago. Discovered in Tanzania, Nyasasaurus represents a key transitional form, showcasing features that are both dinosaurian and pre-dinosaurian, highlighting the evolutionary path leading to more well-known dinosaurs of the Late Triassic and beyond. This discovery pushes back
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Before dinosauromorphs like Asilisaurus, the evolutionary lineage would include earlier archosaurs. One such early archosaur is Marasuchus lilloensis, which lived around 240 million years ago. Marasuchus exhibits several primitive features that are on the evolutionary path towards dinosaurs. Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Reptilia > Order: Dinosauriformes 30 to 40 cm (12 to
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30 Phil, Chapter 7, Heraclitus, Touchstone 17: Identity. Identity is the personal mosaic of attributes that set you apart as an individual. Your identity is shaped by the worldview you embrace and mold. It encompasses the world you were born into — encompassing aspects like gender, ethnicity, and nationality — and extends to your personal
30 Phil, Chapter 7, Heraclitus, Touchstone 17: Worldview. A worldview is your current knowledge, perspectives, beliefs, and values, which evolves with experience and influences your interpretation of reality and self. Your worldview is comprised of all the frameworks you’ve embraced, and a good place to start your exploration is with the three major ones: language, religion,
30 Phil, Chapter 7, Heraclitus, Touchstone 17: Impermanence and Flux. Impermanence as Flux is the idea of an ever-changing nature of life and the interconnectedness of all things. It is summed up as: “Everything is in flux.” Like the idea a “river,” everything flows. The only constant is change, and to resist it is to resist
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30 Phil, Chapter 6, Buddhism, Touchstone 16: Nondualism-Dualism. Nondualism and dualism help to explore the many variations and nuances within the overarching discussion of our nature, whether we have a soul, what happens to it, etc. Dualism says the mind and the body are distinct entities from each other and from the universe. How they interact
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30 Phil, Chapter 6, Buddhism, Touchstone 15: Illusion: Self and Non-self. The Buddhist terms of Atman and Anatman relate to the idea of “Self,” or “Atman,” your eternal soul and the Buddhist doctrine of “Non-Self,” or “Anātman.” To understand non-self, you have to understand the concept of “emptiness,” which refers to the idea that nothing lasts
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30 Phil, Chapter 5, Confucius, Touchstone 13: Normalcy. Normalcy refers to the standards or patterns established through repeated experiences and societal norms, serving as a baseline for judging deviations. Our concept of “normal” influences how we label and react to the world, shaping our perceptions of what is good, bad, or different. These norms are
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30 Phil, Chapter 5, Confucius, Touchstone 14: Schemas. A schema is a mental structure we employ to organize and interpret information. We classify things into schemas, which we can then modify by adding or removing elements. Schemas help us simplify life. Once things are categorized as normal or abnormal, we utilize our cognitive processes, such as
30 Phil, Chapter 4, Laozi, Touchstone 12: Unknowable Dao. The “unknowable Dao” is the skeptical belief that the true nature of reality is unknowable. The Unknowable Dao is a mysterious universal reality that transcends both language and thought; it encapsulates the ultimate reality and its inherent natural order. It’s the idea that the Dao cannot
30 Phil, Chapter 4, Laozi, Touchstone 10: Authenticity. Ziran is often translates to “of its own.” Living in accordance with Ziran means you embrace naturalness. You welcome the spontaneous aspects of existence. With Ziran, you flow with nature while embracing your true self and innate tendencies, your authentic self. Living in accordance with Ziran is you
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30 Phil, Chapter 4, Laozi, Touchstone 9: Wu-wei or “non-action” The term wu-wei is often translated as “non-action.” It is a general concept. It is the idea that the universe has a flow, and it is better to ride that flow than to fight it. Wu-wei is non-action, effortless action, or inaction, but does not mean
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While the earliest fossils we have place the first flowers at about 130 million years ago, they likely evolved earlier. How much earlier is still under research. Recent molecular analysis suggests that the origins of flowering plants might extend back to between 149 and 256 million years ago. This type of research looks at the
Around 60 million years ago, the early ancestors of primates began to develop a crucial adaptation: the opposable thumb. This evolutionary milestone marked the beginning of increased dexterity and the ability to grasp objects more effectively. Living in the dense canopies of prehistoric forests, these early primates used their newly opposable thumbs to navigate their
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Slightly greater range of movement and precision: Around 2 to 3 million years ago, the evolution of the human thumb reached a pivotal point. Early hominins, such as Australopithecus and later Homo habilis, exhibited a thumb that was more similar to that of modern humans. This thumb was capable of a greater range of movement
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Likely between 25 and 30 million years ago, the evolution of the apes brought about further refinement of the opposable thumb. This period saw the divergence of the lineages that would lead to modern “lesser” apes like gibbons as well as later “great” apes, including orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees. The ape thumb evolved to become
Protozoa emerge from a branch of eukaryotes and both branches survive today. Domain: Eukaryota > Kingdom: Protista
