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Essays

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

Black and white photo of a large group of boys and a few adults standing on bare ground, all dressed in 1960s attire.

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Education

A valiant experiment

The progressive and remarkably innovative Woodmead School briefly flourished amid the viciousness of apartheid South Africa

David Dyzenhaus

Tiny planet photo of a snowy mountain under a starry sky and Milky Way galaxy with glowing horizon.

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Cosmology

Exploding the Big Bang

It was thought that science could tell us about the origins of the Universe. Today that great endeavour is in serious doubt

Daniel Linford

Hand-drawn diagram titled “Free-Form Discrete H’Texts” showing a map with two-way links and a flowchart with one-way links.

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Future of technology

A linkless internet

In creating anonymous summaries, AI flattens out all the fascinating architecture of thought that makes the internet hum

Collin Jennings

Black and white photo of cars in traffic on a multi-lane motorway seen from above.

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Political philosophy

The order of anarchy

How San Francisco’s free rides system can help us understand anarchist theory and the work of the late, great James C Scott

Reyko Huang

Coastal erosion showing a collapsed road beside the sea with houses nearby, a person walking a dog on the beach.

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Home

How to lose your home

In a changing climate, the instinct is to save everything you can. But maybe letting go is braver – and better for the future?

Dan Hancox

Black-and-white photo of a man in a suit holding a mug, sitting next to a chimpanzee in an enclosure.

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Human evolution

The eugenicist of UNESCO

Why did Julian S Huxley, first director of the UN agency, think eugenics held the key to a more evolved, harmonious world?

Stefan Bernhardt-Radu

Black and white photo of three people seated at an outdoor café table.

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Political philosophy

The underground university

During the Cold War, Oxford philosophers worked together to aid dissidents behind the Iron Curtain. I was one of them

Cheryl Misak

Abstract photo of tree branches with a dreamy overlay of yellow and blue light creating a soft, ethereal effect.

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Metaphysics

Many worlds, many selves

If it’s true that we live in a vast multiverse, then our understanding of identity, morality and even God must be reexamined

Emily Qureshi-Hurst

An adult and two children in a mall atrium, dressed in winter clothing.

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Biography and memoir

A grief with no name

As a child, I was torn from a culture that I never knew. It is a loss that defines me, even as I struggle to define the loss

Jelena Markovic

Historic photo of a large crowd gathered outside a gated building surrounded by trees, while two women in long dresses approach them from the building.

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Thinkers and theories

Who can claim Aristotle?

The endless battle over his legacy testifies to his great authority – and the power of his thought to make the world better

Edith Hall

Ancient stone statues depicting a standing and a reclining Buddha against a natural rock backdrop.

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Philosophy of religion

Compassionate time

On his final journey through Asia, Thomas Merton found some peace in the dialectic between refusing the world and loving it

Drew Calvert

Photo of a protest in front of a historic building with statues. Signs read “End Racism Now!” and other messages.

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Nations and empires

What is decolonisation?

There’s more talk of decolonisation than ever, while true independence for former colonies has faded from view. Why?

Lydia Walker