Daily Read 7: Essay Aeon | 100 RCs for Practice - CAT PDF Download

Essay 1

Essay Name: A thickness in the air
By: Ben Alderson-Day (Edited by Pam Weintraub)

Sarah was in her late teens when it first happened. A normal Thursday, it was early morning and pitch-black outside.

Read the full essay here: https://aeon.co/essays/why-is-it-possible-to-feel-a-presence-without-sensory-cues

Summary and Theme

The article delves into the phenomenon of feeling a presence without sensory cues, often referred to as 'felt presence' (FP). It examines the psychological and neurological underpinnings of why individuals may sense an unseen entity, particularly during states like sleep paralysis, grief, or extreme survival situations. The theme explores the boundaries between perception and belief, the role of the brain's temporoparietal junction in generating these experiences, and the implications for our understanding of consciousness and the self.

Difficult Words

• Sleep paralysis: A temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or upon waking.
  
• Hypnagogic hallucinations: Vivid, dream-like experiences that occur as one is falling asleep.
• Proprioception: The sense of the relative position of one's own parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement.
• Temporoparietal junction (TPJ): A region of the brain where the temporal and parietal lobes meet, involved in processing of the self and others.
• Phantom boarder: A phenomenon where individuals feel a presence in a specific location, often associated with Parkinson's disease.
• Tulpamancy: A practice of creating a sentient companion or entity through mental and imaginative processes.

Essay 2

Essay Name: The empty basket
By: Ha-Joon Chang (Edited by Sam Haselby) 

In 1986, I left my native South Korea and came to Britain to study economics as a graduate student at the University of Cambridge.

Read the full essay here: https://aeon.co/essays/why-everyone-needs-to-learn-some-economics

Summary and Theme

The article discusses the importance of understanding economics in a modern society. It draws parallels between the evolution of British food culture from conservative to diverse and the need for a similar diversity in economic thought. The author argues that economics, like cuisine, should not be monolithic but rather a blend of various schools of thought. The theme emphasizes that economics is not just an academic subject but a language of power that shapes our lives, policies, and society. The author advocates for economic literacy among citizens to foster a more democratic and informed society, especially in the wake of the 2007-08 financial crisis.

Difficult Words

• Monocropping: The agricultural practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land, in the article used metaphorically to describe the dominance of one school of thought in economics.
• Neoclassical economics: A mainstream approach to economics that focuses on the determination of goods, outputs, and income distributions in markets through supply and demand.
• Keynesian economics: An economic theory of total spending in the economy and its effects on output and inflation developed by John Maynard Keynes.
• Schumpeterian: Pertaining to the economic theories of Joseph Schumpeter, particularly those concerning economic innovation and the business cycle.
• Behaviouralist: Relating to or concerned with the study of behavior, especially in economics, concerning market decisions.
• Egalitarian policies: Policies that aim for equal rights and opportunities for all people.

Essay 3

Essay Name: Inventing heaven
By: Stephen Case (Edited by Pam Weintraub)

The Description of Heaven (1623), by the astronomer Conrad Aslachus, feels close to many ideas about the afterlife still common in Christianity today: heaven is ‘a stately citie, where we shall be secure from all hurt,’ he wrote. 

Read the full essay here: https://aeon.co/essays/how-heaven-became-a-place-among-the-stars

Summary and Theme

The article explores the historical transformation of the Christian concept of heaven from a specific location within the cosmos to a more abstract, non-physical realm. It traces how early Christian interpretations of heaven were influenced by Greek and Roman philosophy, particularly the works of Plato and Aristotle, and how these views were later challenged by the new cosmology of Copernicus and Galileo. The theme reflects on the interplay between religious belief and scientific understanding, highlighting how the physical dislocation of heaven in the Christian cosmology paralleled shifts in astronomical knowledge and led to a reimagining of the afterlife that aligns more closely with the original Christian teachings.

Difficult Words

• Empyrean: The highest part of heaven, thought by the ancients to be the realm of pure fire and by medieval Christians to be the abode of God and the angels.
• Aristotelian: Relating to Aristotle or his philosophy, which posited an Earth-centered universe with a fixed outer sphere of stars.
• Cosmology: The science of the origin and development of the universe.
• Asceticism: Severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.
• Theodicy: The vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil.
• Soteriology: The doctrine of salvation in Christian theology.
• Eschatology: A part of theology concerned with the final events of history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity.