Institute of Art and Ideas(@IAI_TV):We tend to assume action begins with deliberation: weighing options, reasoning, then choosing. But Chinese philosophy suggests something different: Daoist texts like the Zhuangzi describe agency without a reflective self at all, no detached rationalising, just spontaneous, effortless action in tune with nature. Philosopher of cognitive science Brian Bruya argues that as well as this being a more accurate account of how action actually feels., it also sits far more comfortably with recent cognitive science than the Western ideal of reasoned choice, which he traces back to mistakes originating with Aristotle. Read the full article here.

2026.10.10 11:00

We tend to assume action begins with deliberation: weighing options, reasoning, then choosing. But Chinese philosophy suggests something different: Daoist texts like the Zhuangzi describe agency without a reflective self at all, no detached rationalising, just spontaneous, effortless action in tune with nature. Philosopher of cognitive science Brian Bruya argues that as well as this being a more accurate account of how action actually feels., it also sits far more comfortably with recent cognitive science than the Western ideal of reasoned choice, which he traces back to mistakes originating with Aristotle. Read the full article here.