Travel, at its best, changes the way we see the world. Join us each week as we dig into stories from people who took a trip—and came home transformed. Travel Tales by Afar is your ticket to the world, no passport required.
…
continue reading
Content provided by Author Mark Bradford. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Author Mark Bradford or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.
Similar to Alchemy For Life
David Edmonds (Uehiro Centre, Oxford University) and Nigel Warburton (freelance philosopher/writer) interview top philosophers on a wide range of topics. Two books based on the series have been published by Oxford University Press. We are currently self-funding - donations very welcome via our website http://www.philosophybites.com
…
continue reading
Peter Adamson, Professor of Philosophy at the LMU in Munich and at King's College London, takes listeners through the history of philosophy, "without any gaps". www.historyofphilosophy.net
…
continue reading
Custom Manufacturing Industry podcast is an entrepreneurship and motivational podcast on all platforms, hosted by Aaron Clippinger. Being CEO of multiple companies including the signage industry and the software industry, Aaron has over 20 years of consulting and business management. His software has grown internationally and with over a billion dollars annually going through the software. Using his Accounting degree, Aaron will be talking about his organizational ways to get things done. Hi ...
…
continue reading
Welcome to Our Skin, a Personal Discovery Podcast. Each week, host Holly Frey showcases a personal story from someone who lives–and thrives!--while managing psoriasis. Being diagnosed with a chronic skin condition can throw anyone off track, but Our Skin guests have a message of hope: a diagnosis can be an opportunity to discover new things about ourselves, our grit, and our power. In addition to these tales of hope, Frey and her guests plunge into the jaw-dropping, bizarre, and occasionally ...
…
continue reading
The Art of Manliness Podcast aims to deepen and improve every area of a man's life, from fitness and philosophy, to relationships and productivity. Engaging and edifying interviews with some of the world's most interesting doers and thinkers drop the fluff and filler to glean guests' very best, potentially life-changing, insights.
…
continue reading
Join two of the stars from Real Housewives of Potomac, Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon, as they team up for their new podcast Reasonably Shady. The show features conversations about being fearless women as they recount stories from their exciting lives. Topics include dating, relationships, marriage, entrepreneurs, motherhood, style, glam, current events and more! Join Gizelle and Robyn for Reasonably Shady!
…
continue reading
As She Rises brings together local poets and activists from throughout North America to depict the effects of climate change on their home and their people. Each episode carries the listener to a new place through a collection of voices, local recordings and soundscapes. Stories span from the Louisiana Bayou, to the tundras of Alaska to the drying bed of the Colorado River. Centering the voices of native women and women of color, As She Rises personalizes the elusive magnitude of climate cha ...
…
continue reading
Alessandro Bogliari, CEO and Co-Founder of The Influencer Marketing Factory, a global influencer marketing agency, talks with great guests about influencer marketing, social media, the creator economy, social commerce and much more.
…
continue reading
Business tips for startups by proven entrepreneurs
…
continue reading
Player FM - Podcast App
Go offline with the Player FM app!
Go offline with the Player FM app!
))
When the Devil Sounds Like a Unicorn
Manage episode 492665756 series 1577459
Content provided by Author Mark Bradford. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Author Mark Bradford or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.
The Enduring Metaphor of Angels and Devils
The metaphorical representation of a devil and an angel on a person’s shoulders dates back to the 16th century1. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, this concept was prominently featured in plays and allegorical art. By the early 1900s, it had found its way into cartoons as a visual shorthand to depict the internal struggle between virtues and vices. The angel serves to keep one on the “straight and narrow,” while the devil tempts one toward vices and earthly pleasures.
A New Metaphor: The Monster and the Unicorn
Did you hear what the devil is trying to get you to do? He was pulling you towards pleasures. Which does he sound like? The unicorn.
Confusing, no?
Well, no, not at all when you realize that the angel and devil metaphors are not the same as the “monster” and “unicorn.” This distinction can be a source of confusion for some who mistakenly believe them to be interchangeable.
In literature, the roles are clearly defined: the angel encourages you to do what is right and good, which is often the more challenging path. Conversely, the devil tempts you to take the easy, lazy, vindictive, or even mean-spirited route. The angel represents good, while the devil embodies bad.
However, neither the monster nor the unicorn is inherently good or bad; they are neutral. They function as psychological building blocks, each with a singular purpose driven by a cause. The unicorn pulls you toward pleasure and actively seeks it with you. Its goal is for you to experience pleasure, and it tugs at you when it finds it. The monster, on the other hand, wants to protect you from any and all pain.
As we know, “no pain, no gain.” Some necessary life experiences involve pain, and not all pleasurable things should be pursued.
The Overlap Between Angels, Devils, Monsters, and Unicorns
In some instances, the devil’s work aligns with the unicorn’s, as he encourages the pursuit of earthly pleasures and vices. The angel’s role can mirror the monster’s by trying to keep you on a path that minimizes future sadness and regret, preventing actions you might later look back on with remorse.
However, the devil can also perform the monster’s function by convincing you to avoid something simply because it is difficult. The angel, at times, does the work of the unicorn by pushing you toward a higher, happier, and kinder purpose, which naturally feels good.
Under the Hood: The Building Blocks of Morality
In literature and even in your own imagination, if you have perceived morality as a struggle between a devil and an angel, you will find that both are composed of multiple monsters and unicorns.
Your morality is constructed by these monsters and unicorns working in concert with a purpose. The way you pair and combine them creates powerful forces within your psyche. If you build your angel with a host of strong monsters and unicorns, your devil will be comparatively weak, and the reverse is also true.
While we often view the angel and devil as distinct entities with their own personalities, the monster and the unicorn are single-purpose building blocks. Each monster and each unicorn has a singular, specific purpose. The same monster that prevents you from doing something harmful in one relationship could also be the one that holds you back from doing something beneficial in another. Not only are they interchangeable, but their highly specific purposes can cause problems if misapplied.
Therefore, we can conceive of the angel and the devil as a higher form of thinking, positioned above the monster and the unicorn, as they are composed of them.
From Freud’s Pleasure Principle to Personal Morality
At a foundational level is Freud’s pleasure principle, a simple binary. This binary, when combined with causes, gives rise to the monsters and unicorns. Combinations of these monsters and unicorns then form your morality, which you can express as the devil and the angel on your shoulders. This entire construct ultimately shapes your personality and who you are.
Those who are religious or spiritual may feel that their monsters and unicorns come pre-packaged within their belief system. Others may feel they have acquired their monsters and unicorns along life’s journey and are simply the result of managing them.
Whether you believe you are guided by an angel and tempted by a devil, or if you feel closer to the pure binary that Freud described, monsters and unicorns are still part of the equation. Pre-packaged angels and devils from religious texts still contain monsters and unicorns that provide the “why” behind the drive to do good and avoid evil.
If you feel you have a devil on your shoulder that whispers “chocolate” too often, he is merely repeating the words of the unicorn inside him.
The more you break down the origin and the “why” of the devil and the angel, the more you will truly understand the source of your motivations. My subjective belief is that it is far better to communicate directly with your monsters and unicorns than to blindly accept that everything the angel says is good and everything the devil says is bad.
- Marlowe, Christopher. Doctor Faustus. Written c. 1592. In the play, Faustus is visited by a Good Angel and Evil Angel who offer opposing moral advice—representing internal conflict akin to the modern angel/devil trope ↩︎
250 episodes
Share
Manage episode 492665756 series 1577459
Content provided by Author Mark Bradford. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Author Mark Bradford or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.
The Enduring Metaphor of Angels and Devils
The metaphorical representation of a devil and an angel on a person’s shoulders dates back to the 16th century1. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, this concept was prominently featured in plays and allegorical art. By the early 1900s, it had found its way into cartoons as a visual shorthand to depict the internal struggle between virtues and vices. The angel serves to keep one on the “straight and narrow,” while the devil tempts one toward vices and earthly pleasures.
A New Metaphor: The Monster and the Unicorn
Did you hear what the devil is trying to get you to do? He was pulling you towards pleasures. Which does he sound like? The unicorn.
Confusing, no?
Well, no, not at all when you realize that the angel and devil metaphors are not the same as the “monster” and “unicorn.” This distinction can be a source of confusion for some who mistakenly believe them to be interchangeable.
In literature, the roles are clearly defined: the angel encourages you to do what is right and good, which is often the more challenging path. Conversely, the devil tempts you to take the easy, lazy, vindictive, or even mean-spirited route. The angel represents good, while the devil embodies bad.
However, neither the monster nor the unicorn is inherently good or bad; they are neutral. They function as psychological building blocks, each with a singular purpose driven by a cause. The unicorn pulls you toward pleasure and actively seeks it with you. Its goal is for you to experience pleasure, and it tugs at you when it finds it. The monster, on the other hand, wants to protect you from any and all pain.
As we know, “no pain, no gain.” Some necessary life experiences involve pain, and not all pleasurable things should be pursued.
The Overlap Between Angels, Devils, Monsters, and Unicorns
In some instances, the devil’s work aligns with the unicorn’s, as he encourages the pursuit of earthly pleasures and vices. The angel’s role can mirror the monster’s by trying to keep you on a path that minimizes future sadness and regret, preventing actions you might later look back on with remorse.
However, the devil can also perform the monster’s function by convincing you to avoid something simply because it is difficult. The angel, at times, does the work of the unicorn by pushing you toward a higher, happier, and kinder purpose, which naturally feels good.
Under the Hood: The Building Blocks of Morality
In literature and even in your own imagination, if you have perceived morality as a struggle between a devil and an angel, you will find that both are composed of multiple monsters and unicorns.
Your morality is constructed by these monsters and unicorns working in concert with a purpose. The way you pair and combine them creates powerful forces within your psyche. If you build your angel with a host of strong monsters and unicorns, your devil will be comparatively weak, and the reverse is also true.
While we often view the angel and devil as distinct entities with their own personalities, the monster and the unicorn are single-purpose building blocks. Each monster and each unicorn has a singular, specific purpose. The same monster that prevents you from doing something harmful in one relationship could also be the one that holds you back from doing something beneficial in another. Not only are they interchangeable, but their highly specific purposes can cause problems if misapplied.
Therefore, we can conceive of the angel and the devil as a higher form of thinking, positioned above the monster and the unicorn, as they are composed of them.
From Freud’s Pleasure Principle to Personal Morality
At a foundational level is Freud’s pleasure principle, a simple binary. This binary, when combined with causes, gives rise to the monsters and unicorns. Combinations of these monsters and unicorns then form your morality, which you can express as the devil and the angel on your shoulders. This entire construct ultimately shapes your personality and who you are.
Those who are religious or spiritual may feel that their monsters and unicorns come pre-packaged within their belief system. Others may feel they have acquired their monsters and unicorns along life’s journey and are simply the result of managing them.
Whether you believe you are guided by an angel and tempted by a devil, or if you feel closer to the pure binary that Freud described, monsters and unicorns are still part of the equation. Pre-packaged angels and devils from religious texts still contain monsters and unicorns that provide the “why” behind the drive to do good and avoid evil.
If you feel you have a devil on your shoulder that whispers “chocolate” too often, he is merely repeating the words of the unicorn inside him.
The more you break down the origin and the “why” of the devil and the angel, the more you will truly understand the source of your motivations. My subjective belief is that it is far better to communicate directly with your monsters and unicorns than to blindly accept that everything the angel says is good and everything the devil says is bad.
- Marlowe, Christopher. Doctor Faustus. Written c. 1592. In the play, Faustus is visited by a Good Angel and Evil Angel who offer opposing moral advice—representing internal conflict akin to the modern angel/devil trope ↩︎
250 episodes
All episodes
×
Welcome to Player FM!
Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.
Similar to Alchemy For Life
Travel, at its best, changes the way we see the world. Join us each week as we dig into stories from people who took a trip—and came home transformed. Travel Tales by Afar is your ticket to the world, no passport required.
…
continue reading
David Edmonds (Uehiro Centre, Oxford University) and Nigel Warburton (freelance philosopher/writer) interview top philosophers on a wide range of topics. Two books based on the series have been published by Oxford University Press. We are currently self-funding - donations very welcome via our website http://www.philosophybites.com
…
continue reading
Peter Adamson, Professor of Philosophy at the LMU in Munich and at King's College London, takes listeners through the history of philosophy, "without any gaps". www.historyofphilosophy.net
…
continue reading
Custom Manufacturing Industry podcast is an entrepreneurship and motivational podcast on all platforms, hosted by Aaron Clippinger. Being CEO of multiple companies including the signage industry and the software industry, Aaron has over 20 years of consulting and business management. His software has grown internationally and with over a billion dollars annually going through the software. Using his Accounting degree, Aaron will be talking about his organizational ways to get things done. Hi ...
…
continue reading
Welcome to Our Skin, a Personal Discovery Podcast. Each week, host Holly Frey showcases a personal story from someone who lives–and thrives!--while managing psoriasis. Being diagnosed with a chronic skin condition can throw anyone off track, but Our Skin guests have a message of hope: a diagnosis can be an opportunity to discover new things about ourselves, our grit, and our power. In addition to these tales of hope, Frey and her guests plunge into the jaw-dropping, bizarre, and occasionally ...
…
continue reading
The Art of Manliness Podcast aims to deepen and improve every area of a man's life, from fitness and philosophy, to relationships and productivity. Engaging and edifying interviews with some of the world's most interesting doers and thinkers drop the fluff and filler to glean guests' very best, potentially life-changing, insights.
…
continue reading
Join two of the stars from Real Housewives of Potomac, Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon, as they team up for their new podcast Reasonably Shady. The show features conversations about being fearless women as they recount stories from their exciting lives. Topics include dating, relationships, marriage, entrepreneurs, motherhood, style, glam, current events and more! Join Gizelle and Robyn for Reasonably Shady!
…
continue reading
As She Rises brings together local poets and activists from throughout North America to depict the effects of climate change on their home and their people. Each episode carries the listener to a new place through a collection of voices, local recordings and soundscapes. Stories span from the Louisiana Bayou, to the tundras of Alaska to the drying bed of the Colorado River. Centering the voices of native women and women of color, As She Rises personalizes the elusive magnitude of climate cha ...
…
continue reading
Alessandro Bogliari, CEO and Co-Founder of The Influencer Marketing Factory, a global influencer marketing agency, talks with great guests about influencer marketing, social media, the creator economy, social commerce and much more.
…
continue reading
Business tips for startups by proven entrepreneurs
…
continue reading
Player FM - Podcast App
Go offline with the Player FM app!
Go offline with the Player FM app!
