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Ideas that inspire a life well-lived
Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional?
Life’s biggest questions rarely have simple answers. That is precisely why they continue to occupy the world’s most thoughtful minds. The Well is a place to engage those questions, drawing on insights from science, philosophy, and the humanities.
Created by the John Templeton Foundation in partnership with Big Think, The Well brings together ideas that inspire deeper understanding and a more considered approach to living.
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The Templeton Foundation supports interdisciplinary research and catalyzes conversations that inspire awe and wonder.
Why Einstein called awe the fundamental emotion
If you’ve gotten goosebumps when hearing a story about a stranger’s selfless heroism, or you’ve felt your chest swell at a concert, when the audience’s voice and the musician’s instruments align, you have felt awe. And, according to professor Dacher Keltner, who has spent his life studying it, it’s one of humankind’s most unifying traits:
Sikh American scholar and historian Simran Jeet Singh on helping kids imagine — and create — a more empathetic world.
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Duke sociologist Dr. Christopher Bail on the tech’s potential to foster empathy in an age of division.
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If the "self" is not real, then we are slaves to a billiard ball universe, trapped in a nihilistic nightmare in which we cannot change our fate.
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Humanity is never fully in control of its creations. This lesson from Mary Shelley has remained relevant for over 200 years.
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Is true equality achievable — or even desirable? Go on a journey through the strange and unsettling "Land of Justice."
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How the simple act of watching twilight can radically transform our perception of the world and our role within it.
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Alchemy had its golden age in the 17th century, when it counted Isaac Newton and Robert Boyle among its adherents.
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The debate goes back at least 400 years.
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Sophia, the humanoid robot, is not just mirroring emotions; she's leading a revolution in emotional intelligence.
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The crisis of the Anthropocene challenges our traditional narratives and myths about humanity's place in the world. Citizen science can help.
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Gods and angels have been replaced with hi-tech extraterrestrials.
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Unlock the paradoxes of life through poetic realism.
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“Why are you unhappy? Because 99.9 percent of everything you think, and of everything you do, is for yourself — and there isn’t one.”
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Spiritual experiences can be explained in terms of a highly evolved brain. But they also can be extremely meaningful.
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"Groupthink" gets a bad rap. In reality, we need groups to focus our thinking and to build on the ideas of others.
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Neuroscience is beginning to provide clues about the emergence of human consciousness.
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Man does not live by measurement alone.
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Thinking about the problem of meaning is unsettling because it introduces us to a list of solutions that all feel a bit insane.
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How humans came to feel comfortable among strangers, like those in a café, is an under-explored mystery.
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The acceptance of our cosmic loneliness and the rarity of our planet is a wakeup call.
John Templeton Foundation