Essays

Longform Essays written by serious and creative thinkers on philosophy, psychology, science, society and culture

London’s Gherkin building lit at night with Canary Wharf skyscrapers glowing in the hazy background.

essayHistory of ideas

Philosopher of pride

For Mandeville, humankind has a bottomless need to be liked: it is this perennial craving that forms the foundation of society

Andrea Branchi

Coloured scanning electron micrograph of yellow bacteria surrounded by dark grey particulate matter.

essayDeep time

Long live the aeonophiles!

The discovery of organisms that have been alive for many thousands of years requires a revolution in how we understand life

Karen G Lloyd

Illustration of three people wearing headscarves walking along a wall carrying books and backpacks with trees and a decorative gate in the background.

essayBiography and memoir

A life of joy and work

I am banned from working now, but as I look back on my long, challenging career in Afghanistan I feel hope for the future

Najla & Asad Nariman

Pope Francis wearing white robes waters a freshly planted tree from a wooden bowl, a man holding a book and a woman wearing a colourful headdress beside him and a cameraman in the background

essayReligion

Green dominion

Coursing through Catholicism is a radical tradition of environmental justice that will help combat the climate crisis

Mike Mariani

A group of people in striped clothing and headscarves standing in shallow water, raising hands towards a cloudy sky.

essayPhilosophy of religion

Undefinable yet indispensable

Despite centuries of trying, the term ‘religion’ has proven impossible to define. Then why does it remain so necessary?

Kwame Anthony Appiah

Photo of an old computer monitor discarded in nature, surrounded by grass and twigs under a cloudy sky.

essayEthics

Can machines suffer?

We once denied the suffering of animals in pain. As AIs grow more complex, we run the danger of making the same mistake

Conor Purcell

Aerial photo of people in colourful clothes standing in line casting long shadows on a dirt path surrounded by greenery.

essayPolitical philosophy

The empty ideology

Liberalism hasn’t delivered on its promises in Africa. The alternative will be found in ideas rooted in Africa’s own soil

Gabriel Asuquo

Black and white photo of a woman and child walking on a cobbled street in an industrial town with chimneys in the background.

essayFamily life

Maternal paradox

‘Scientific motherhood’ promised to create high standards for child-rearing. But it’s really a system designed to police women

Sherry Chan

Medieval painting of a figure in a robe holding two golden discs with a patterned blue and red background.

essayArt

Medieval moons

Some saw the Moon as representing creation, yearning for the Divine, some saw the Moon as almost Divine herself

Ayoush Lazikani

A woman sleeping on a bed in a floral wallpapered room with a lamp and a window.

essaySleep and dreams

Sleep is delicious

The idea that we should reduce sleep to an efficient minimum in our lives gets something fundamentally wrong

Sara Protasi

A herd of elephants walking through a dusty landscape with a blurred background of trees and bushes.

essayBiology

Desert survivors

Elephant families are matriarchal, inclusive and caring. But when environmental scarcity hits, everything changes

Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell

A black hole, showing a glowing orange-red ring surrounded by darkness, captured by a telescope.

essayCosmology

Cosmic imposters

We know that black holes are strange, but they could be hiding something even weirder beyond their horizons

Gideon Koekoek