Whose ideas contain ours?

Whose thoughts have most influenced ours?

I’m Paul Ham, a historian of the ideas and beliefs of humankind - and those we’re willing to live and die for.

I hope you enjoy my weekly essay, Who Made Our Minds?, inspired by my book, The Soul: A History of the Human Mind (Penguin 2024).

Every Thursday we’ll probe the greatest, cruellest and most beautiful minds of the past 5,000 years. We’ll prod the grey matter of philosophers, prophets, revolutionaries and tyrants. If we’re sitting on the shoulders of giants, who were they?

What you’ll get:

Who Made Our Minds? will arrive, free, in your inbox every Thursday afternoon (Paris time). You’ll receive a 1200-2500-word essay sourced to some of the finest scholarship.

Or, you can help me help us understand our world by choosing a paid subscription. For $5 a month you’ll receive:

• Four essays on the greatest, cruellest and most beautiful minds of the past.

• The freedom to respond to my essay.

• Invitations to future book launches and literary events.

• Access to my archive.

• The pleasure of helping me probe the minds of the past, a job most of us haven’t the time to do.

If you like Who Made Our Minds? please feel free to share it with your friends.

Much appreciated,

Paul