In the novel ‘Black Bag,’ a classroom experiment invites questions about masculinity

Great art can change your life—but learning about the artist’s sordid past can change how you view their art. So argues memoirist and art critic Claire Dederer in Monsters. Dederer offers an insider’s look at the thorny question: Can we love the art if we loathe the artist? She doesn’t offer easy answers. Instead, she examines how our emotional responses to art are shaped by our knowledge of the artist’s behavior, and what that says about our own morality, identity, and desires.

Our guide to Monsters starts by examining what a monster is; we outline three types of monsters and explore the lives of famous artists in each category. Then, we explain why monstrous artists trouble us. Finally, we explore three ways we can respond to art made by monsters alongside three lessons on humans’ moral complexity. In our commentary, we provide more context on the artists Dederer discusses and other expert perspectives on the nature of art, monstrosity, fandom, and morality.

Even though we’re all human, most of us don’t understand what drives people (including ourselves) to feel and behave the way we do. In The Laws of Human Nature, author Robert Greene looks at several laws that explain, among other things, why we self-sabotage, behave differently in groups, and want the wrong things.

Armed with the knowledge of these fundamentals of human nature, you can manage toxic people, become more empathetic, make people like you, and control your own nature.

It’s difficult to imagine what kind of individual could commit humanity’s most evil crimes. Surely, no one we know could ever murder or torture an innocent person, right? In The Lucifer Effect, Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist famous for running the notorious Stanford Prison Experiment, argues that most of us drastically misunderstand human evil. According to Zimbardo, we underestimate the potential for the circumstances of a given time and place to transform ordinary people into heartless killers. Not only does this misunderstanding cause many unsuspecting people to willingly participate in evil and abuse, it also prevents us from identifying and putting an end to true sources of evil.

In this guide, we’ll detail the various circumstantial factors that can influence people to hurt others, illustrating them with examples from Zimbardo’s firsthand account of the Stanford Prison Experiment. Furthermore, we’ll offer additional insights from psychological research on human morality and explore popular criticisms of the Stanford Prison Experiment’s validity.

Thinking is the key to improvement in all areas of your life—but what if it’s your thinking that needs to be improved? In The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking, award-winning educators Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird provide a guide for maximizing your thought process to achieve the greatest success possible in the classroom, the workplace, and your personal life.

In our guide, we’ll explore the five principles Burger and Starbird recommend for learning to think effectively, which they structure around five elements: earth, fire, air, water, and change. We’ll also examine how these principles relate to established theories of learning and educational psychology, and we’ll compare them to works from other authors on how to change your thinking and mindset to improve your life and achieve your goals.