Articles
Display More
We’re building a guide for everyday life, where experts will educate you about our world.
Author Spotlight
Jim Cubie, JD, is a consultant to the Muhlenberg College Center for Ornithology where he advises on bird safety and native plants.
Latest:
Zahara Nabakooza is an advocate for children’s rights and climate action.
Latest:
Vincent Carretta is a professor and author specializing in 18th-century literature.
Latest:
Kevin Fitzgerald is a veterinarian, author, educator, comedian, and television personality.
Latest:
Alice Belcher Tweedy (1850–1934) was an American journalist who wrote about feminism and science. “Her work paved the way for future women in journalism.” (Source: Wikipedia)
Robin Scher is a freelance writer and journalist based in South Africa.
Latest:
Sam Davis is a staff scientist at the Partnership for Policy Integrity (PFPI), a nonprofit that uses science, litigation, policy analysis, and strategic communications to promote policies that protect climate, ecosystems, and people.
Latest:
Steven Rosenfeld is the Voting and Elections editor of the Observatory. He is the editor and chief correspondent of the Independent Media Institute’s Voting Booth project.
Latest:
Deirdre Loughridge is a musicologist and historian of music technology whose research examines the relationship between music, technology, and human experience.
Latest:
Marilyn Kroplick is the president and executive director of In Defense of Animals.
Latest:
Guides
This guide explores the evolutionary origins of aesthetics in humans, otherwise known as bioaesthetics. Bioaesthetics is an interdisciplinary field that bridges biology, psychology, philosophy, and art to investigate aesthetic perception and how we perceive certain forms. Emerging research underlines the fact that our sense of beauty isn't purely cultural and has biological underpinnings.
editorsourceareaThroughout history, negative human impulses (such as divisiveness, greed, aggression, etc.) have birthed periods of societal crisis. For example, polarizing political agendas and greedy economic policies not only create trauma and suffering, but they also narrow the “we” by destroying community coalitions. Fortunately, we can shift the paradigm in favor of goodwill for all. This guide provides a framework for understanding this toxic societal polarization pattern and demonstrates how we have repeatedly navigated our way out of it. By reflecting on human nature and historical examples, we can create a more inclusive future for the “we” collective.
editorsourceareaConscious consumption means recognizing that everyday purchasing decisions shape the well-being of nonhuman animals, ecosystems, and human communities. It includes choosing foods that minimize harm, supporting ethical and sustainable production, avoiding products linked to environmental destruction, and rejecting exploitative labor practices. From humane food labels and plant-based alternatives to shade-grown coffee, eco-friendly wine, and reduced reliance on fast fashion and fossil fuels, each choice carries impact. The Observatory’s Guide to Conscious Consumption brings together practical tools and deeper context to help you make informed decisions that support your health, reduce harm, and contribute to a more just and sustainable world.
editorsourceareaEnvironmental health explores how the natural and built environments influence human well-being. Factors such as air and water quality, climate change, toxic chemical exposures, food systems, and ecosystem health can all affect physical and mental health. Pollution, environmental degradation, and hazardous substances contribute to a wide range of health risks, while healthy ecosystems help provide clean water, nutritious food, disease regulation, and other essential services. Understanding these connections can help societies develop policies and practices that protect both human health and the environments on which life depends.
editorsourceareaThe Observatory’s Guide to Animals in Science and Research examines the role of nonhuman animals in scientific experimentation and biomedical development. It explores the ethical, regulatory, and scientific debates surrounding animal testing, including concerns about welfare, transparency, and the limits of animal models in predicting human outcomes. The guide highlights practices involving primates and laboratory animals, as well as growing calls for reform, improved oversight, and the development of alternative research methods. By connecting policy, science, and ethics, it offers a clearer understanding of how animals are used in research—and what a more humane and effective system might look like.
editorsourceareaHuman ecology begins in the most intimate corners of our lives. Every breath we take, every meal shared, every relationship nurtured within a neighborhood depends on the health of the living environments around us. Human ecology helps us see how daily choices are woven into larger social and ecological systems—and how those systems, in turn, shape our bodies, minds, and spirits. It invites us to consider both our material needs—food, water, shelter—and our psychosocial needs—belonging, purpose, and agency—and to understand how inseparably they are linked.
editorsourceareaEach lens in this Guide encourages us to notice relationships: between people, communities, and the natural world. It examines how governance can support quality of life, how neighborhoods grow and adapt, how education shapes our understanding of one another, and how cultures share resources and respond to change. The Guide offers practical ways to live more gently—and more courageously—with one another and with the planet, showing that the patterns we create carry consequences across places and generations.
At its core, human ecology is about caring for ourselves, the communities that shape us, and the ecosystems that sustain every moment of life. When society teaches that human well-being and environmental health are part of the same story, a new possibility emerges: that future generations may inherit not only knowledge, but wiser, more balanced ways of living on Earth.We use language every day—from spoken and signed words to written communication and body gestures—but how often do we pause to consider what drives it beneath the surface? Linguistics, the scientific study of language, seeks to answer this question by examining how language is acquired, how it functions, how it changes over time, and how it connects to both human evolution and society. Its insights reach far beyond the classroom, shaping our understanding of education, politics, technology, identity, and culture.
editorsourceareaThis Guide to Linguistics: The Science of Language explores how language both shapes and is shaped by our experiences, values, and identities. Through a diverse collection of essays, it invites readers to rethink the language they use and the assumptions they make about others based on how they speak. It also examines the power dynamics embedded in language—how words can reflect, reinforce, or challenge social hierarchies.
As you move through the guide, consider the contexts in which language is used. Ask: Who is speaking? Where, when, and why? These questions open the door to a more nuanced understanding of what language is, how it functions, and how it continues to evolve. Whether you are a student, a lifelong learner, or simply curious about the forces shaping everyday communication, this guide offers a deeper look at the many dimensions of language.Birds are among the most diverse, intelligent, and ecologically important animals on Earth. They pollinate plants, disperse seeds, regulate insect populations, and inspire human cultures through their songs, migrations, and extraordinary adaptations. Yet many bird species also face unprecedented pressures from habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, pollution, and other human activities. This guide explores the science of birds, their relationships with people and ecosystems, and the many ways we can better understand and protect them.
editorsourceareaAs people live longer and face increasingly complex end-of-life decisions, understanding death and dying has never been more important. This guide explores the emerging movement of death literacy, offering practical tools, knowledge, and community resources to help individuals navigate mortality with clarity and confidence. From fostering open conversations about death to exploring near-death experiences and preparing for end-of-life care, these articles provide insights into how we can approach death as a natural, supported, and meaningful part of life.
editorsourceareaThis guide explores the concept, models, and examples of the peace economy: the giving, sharing, thriving, caring economy without which none of us would be alive. A peace economy is the sharing of resources, a culture of care, and the remembrance that there is enough abundance for all of us on this planet. It is the return to a culture that understands true value and wealth come from nurturing life, love, and joy. We call it a "local" peace economy because it operates at the local level, beginning in the commons. This guide also offers ways to divest from the war economy that is destroying life and well-being on this planet.
editorsourcearea[[]]
New Additions
As keyboards and touchscreens replace pens and pencils, the decline of handwriting raises questions about cognition, culture, and creativity.
By: Danica Tomber
A 19th-century hyperpolyglot reported to have known up to 72 languages, the biography of Cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti explores the boundaries of how we characterize multilingualism.
By: Michael Erard
Before Freudian psychoanalysis became the dominant approach to psychotherapy, physician Morton Prince pioneered influential ideas about dissociation, hypnosis, habit formation, and talk therapy that helped shape the early development of American psychotherapy.
By: George Prochnik
Humanitarian organizations invest in education to promote safety, resilience, and social cohesion, but researchers continue to debate its long-term impact on conflict and human well-being.
By: Chloe Bruce
Buraq, the winged steed associated with the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey, evolved from a briefly described figure into a richly imagined symbol through Islamic literature, visual art, philosophy, and centuries of religious and cultural interpretation.
By: Yasmine Seale
Was it their mastery of the horse and chariot, or a revolutionary social structure that allowed them to absorb their neighbors so effectively?
By analyzing the landscape where the Onon and Kherlen rivers form, we are hunting for the site which was allegedly altered to hide the Mongol Emperor forever.
Was Alexander the Great swallowed by the rising tides of the Mediterranean, or perhaps hidden by a populace protecting their god-king from religious fervor?
Classics
This is a speech by Frederick Douglass given on Monday, July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York. The oration was published as a pamphlet the same year. Annotations were provided by the Wikisource community.
This article on the German philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte (associated with the movement of German idealism) appeared in the Philosophical Review, Volume 16, pp. 488-505, in 1907.
Ellen Bliss Talbot was a professor of philosophy at Mount Holyoke College from 1898 to 1932. From Wikisource:
“According to Dorothy Rogers and Therese B. Dykeman… ‘[Talbot] had a successful academic career, chairing Mount Holyoke’s philosophy department for thirty-two years and teaching part-time for several years after retirement. She published just three books, all on Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1898, 1899, 1906), in addition to her considerable number of articles in the Philosophical Review, Mind, and the American Journal of Psychology. Her commitment to women’s education at Mount Holyoke was unwavering, helping to ensure that the philosophy curriculum met the expectations of her fellow academicians as philosophy established itself as a profession.’ From ‘Introduction: Women in the American Philosophical Tradition 1800–1930,’ in Hypatia 19:2 (Spring 2004): viii-xxxiv.”
The famous novel about government and business corruption in the early 20th century by muckraker author Upton Sinclair.
From Wikisource:
- “The Jungle is a 1906 novel written by author and socialist journalist Upton Sinclair. It was written about the corruption of the American meatpacking industry during the early 20th century. The novel depicts in harsh tones the poverty, absence of social programs, unpleasant living and working conditions, and hopelessness prevalent among the ‘have-nots,’ which is contrasted with the deeply rooted corruption on the part of the ‘haves.’”
By: Upton Sinclair
From Wikipedia:
- “A Voice from the South: By a Black Woman of the South is the first book by American author, educator, and activist Anna J. Cooper. First published in 1892, the book is widely viewed as one of the first articulations of Black feminism. The book is divided into two parts, ‘Soprano Obligato’ and ‘Tutti Ad Libitum.’ Each section contains four individual essays. This book led to the term ‘Cooperian’ being coined when speaking about Anna J. Cooper. It is considered one of the first, full-length Black feminist texts.”
- Overview
- “A Voice from the South compiles a series of essays that touched on a variety of topics, such as race and racism, gender, the socioeconomic realities of Black families, and the administration of the Episcopal Church.”
- “The book advanced a vision of self-determination through education and social uplift for African-American women. Its central thesis was that the educational, moral, and spiritual progress of Black women would improve the general standing of the entire African-American community. She says that the violent natures of men often run counter to the goals of higher education, so it is important to foster more female intellectuals because they will bring more elegance to education. She noted Black women whose accomplishments could rival those of men, including Phillis Wheatley, Sojourner Truth, Fanny Jackson Coppin, and Edmonia Lewis. Cooper advanced the view that it was the duty of educated and successful Black women to support their underprivileged peers in achieving their goals. Through this view Cooper’s style was deemed ‘Cooperian,’ as a direct comparison to other male canonical theorists. …”
- “A Voice from the South was published during a period that saw a burst of intellectual publications by Black women. Cooper’s book was published the same year as Lucy Delaney’s From the Darkness Cometh the Light; or, Struggles for Freedom, Ida B. Wells’s Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases, and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s Iola Leroy; or, Shadows Uplifted.”
By: Anna J. Cooper
This two-volume book is an “exposé about the Standard Oil Company, run at the time by oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, the richest figure in American history.” More from Wikipedia:
“Originally serialized in nineteen parts in McClure’s magazine, the book is a seminal example of muckraking, and inspired many other journalists to write about trusts, large businesses that (in the absence of strong antitrust laws in the 19th century) attempted to gain monopolies in various industries.”
“The History of the Standard Oil Company is credited with hastening the breakup of Standard Oil, which came about in 1911, when the Supreme Court of the United States found the company to be violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.”
“The original book was a two-volume hardcover set. An abridged paperback edition was released later.”
By: Ida M. Tarbell
From Wikipedia:
- “Woman in the Nineteenth Century is a book by American journalist, editor, and women’s rights advocate Margaret Fuller. Originally published in July 1843 in The Dial magazine as ‘The Great Lawsuit. Man versus Men. Woman versus Women,’ it was later expanded and republished in book form in 1845.”
- “The basis for Fuller’s essay is the idea that man will rightfully inherit the earth when he becomes an elevated being, understanding of divine love. There have been periods in time when the world was more awake to this love, but people are sleeping now; however, everyone has the power to become enlightened. Man cannot now find perfection because he is still burdened with selfish desires, but Fuller is optimistic and says that we are on the verge of a new awakening. She claims that in the past man, like Orpheus for Eurydice, has always called out for woman, but soon will come the time when women will call for men, when they will be equals and share divine love.”
From Wikisource:
“Ten Days in a Mad-House is a book written by newspaper reporter Nellie Bly and published by Norman Munro in New York City in 1887. The book comprised Blyʼs reportage for the New York World while on an undercover assignment in which she feigned insanity to investigate reports of brutality and neglect at the Womenʼs Lunatic Asylum on Blackwellʼs Island.”
The full text of this edition published by Norman L. Munro is available on Wikisource at this link.
By: Nellie Bly
This article on "the woman question" of the right for American women* to vote appeared in Popular Science Monthly, Volume 49, in June 1896. Two months later, Popular Science Monthly's editors attacked Tweedy's argument in an Editor's Table section titled "Women and Politics," reproduced below for historical context depicting the attitude of most men (and some women) of Tweedy's time:
- "The Monthly has lately given place to two articles on the subject of the demand which is now being made by some women on behalf of their sex to be allowed to participate in political life on a footing of perfect equality with men. One of our contributors [George F. Talbot, 'The Political Rights and Duties of Women'] has tried to show cause why the demand should not be granted, taking the ground that the change would be injurious to society as a whole and particularly injurious to the female sex. The other [Tweedy, below] treats the arguments of the first with scorn, and, if we are not mistaken, betrays not a little of that 'antagonism of the sexes' which nevertheless she declares to be 'unnatural and vicious.' The question is one which ought to be discussed with complete dispassionateness; and we think that on this score there was no fault to find with the earlier of the two contributions, that by Mr. George F. Talbot, in our May number."
The editors go on to dismiss Tweedy's argument because "As long as men alone do the voting, they are supposed to represent the non-voting sex. Every man has or has had a mother, most have one or more sisters, and a very large proportion have wives. Every man's vote, therefore, … ought to express his consciousness of and respect for the family tie." They continue, "What is mainly needed, in our opinion, is the deepening of the sense of trusteeship in men." Nevertheless, the "women agitators," described below by Tweedy, fought on until women won the right to vote with the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment.
✲ It should be noted that the public debate at the time often considered the voting rights of only white women. While women gained the vote in 1920 with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, it was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that the right to vote for Black women, Indigenous women, and women of color was guaranteed.By: Alice B. Tweedy
In this memoir, Frederick Douglass chronicles life as an enslaved boy in the American South, his eventual escape, and his new beginnings as a free man and abolitionist.
Note: This historical memoir may include outdated and offensive language.
“The Shame of the Cities is a book written by American author Lincoln Steffens. Published in 1904, it is a collection of articles which Steffens had written for McClure’s Magazine. It reports on the workings of corrupt political machines in several major cities in the United States, along with a few efforts to combat them. It is considered one of several early major pieces of muckraking journalism, but Steffens later claimed that the work made him ‘the first muckraker.’” (Source: Wikipedia)
By: Lincoln Steffens
Retrieved from "https://observatory.wiki/w/index.php?title=Main_Page&oldid=13026"
