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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.
Ancient DNA just proved that ‘pure genetics’ don’t exist
The oldest bones in Britain share almost no DNA with anyone alive today. Here’s what that tells us about human history, genetics, and ethnic “homelands."
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.
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Adolescents actively shape the transformation of religion and become the bearers of new religious patterns, worldviews, and values.
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In the beginning, genes weren't needed.
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Considering the perspectives of others has important benefits for individuals and for society. There is one easy way to do it.
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Intellectual humility demands that we examine our motivations for holding certain beliefs.
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"I am an anthropologist, and for years, I have spoken to people who have had these experiences."
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The answer to the age-old philosophical question of whether there is meaning in the Universe may ultimately rest upon the power of information.
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From politics to culture, we blame “tribalism” for humanity’s problems. This explanation is entirely wrong.
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Today’s young people are intelligent and kind, but they are overworked and burned out.
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An interview with CRISPR co-discoverer and Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Jennifer Doudna.
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When justice isn’t tempered by something such as mercy, forgiveness, or nonviolence, efforts to make society more equitable often backfire.
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Just as there are many types of believers, there's not only one type of atheist.
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The emergence of life in the universe is as certain as the emergence of matter, gravity, and the stars. Life is the universe developing a memory, and our chemical detection system could find it.
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It might seem like science and faith are at war, but the two have a historical synergy that extends back in time for centuries.
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Pain makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. What's puzzling is why so many of us choose to seek out painful experiences.
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You've heard of Stephen Hawking. Ever heard of Renata Kallosh? Didn't think so.
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Science doesn't fit neatly into ideology.
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Willpower alone likely isn't enough to replace a bad habit with a good one.
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