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

Photo of deep space with a pale blue dot in the distance against a dark background, featuring faint light streaks.

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Cosmology

Just a pale blue dot

When we see the Earth as ‘a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam’ what do we learn about human significance?

Tim Bayne

A dark building at night, the black building structure contrasting with a deep blue night sky, with many vertical rectangular windows, three windows are brightly lit.

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Philosophy of science

More-than-human science

When AI takes over the practice of science we will likely find the results strange and incomprehensible. Should we worry?

Brandon Boesch

Ancient stone sculpture of a reclining female figure on a smooth surface against a grey background.

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Thinkers and theories

The truth about love

In Plato’s Symposium, Socrates shared a theory of love from the teachings of a ‘non-Athenian woman’. Who was she really?

Armand D’Angour

Black and white photo of a firing squad in a wooded area with snow on the ground, soldiers aiming rifles at standing figures.

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Death

The last letter

Condemned to death by firing squad, French resistance fighters put pen to paper. Their dying words can teach us how to live

Daniel R Brunstetter

Enhanced image of Ceres’ surface showing a bright crater and stars in space.

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Space exploration

Have they been here?

When we look for extraterrestrials, we often peer into the depths of space. But alien life might be closer than you think

Ravi Kopparapu & Jacob Haqq Misra

Photo of people walking outdoors carrying trays of plants, surrounded by bushes and greenery.

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Meaning and the good life

Welcome to the Chaoscene

The climate crisis is here. In order to thrive in these dangerous and precarious times, we must build resilient communities

Rupert Read

Photo of a black and white moth with speckled wings against a dark background.

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Genetics

Beanbag genetics

Today a bitter dispute about the nature of biology is underway. A simple bag of beans may be what tips the balance

Zachary B Hancock

Photo of a rural scene: a man and child walk with ducks past a military motorcycle and three soldiers in a field.

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Nations and empires

Shame and revolution

Vietnam’s potent and storied anticolonialism is founded upon a unique sense of national shame

Kevin D Pham

Aerial photo of a snowy town with colourful buildings and a vast frozen landscape in the background.

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The environment

On unstable ground

A ‘great reshuffle’ of the land is underway. It will force us to reconsider traditional ideas of property and ownership

Michael Albertus

Black and white photo of people wrapped in shawls sitting with light and smoke creating dramatic shadows and highlights.

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Philosophy of mind

By the light of brahman

Ideas from classical Indian philosophy help illuminate the enigmas of selfhood, consciousness and the nature of reality

Anand Vaidya & Manjula Menon

Black and white photo of oil workers handling equipment on a rig, with oil splashing out from the pipe they are holding.

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Gender

Does testosterone make men?

In probing whether there are basic sex differences in humans, a psychologist and a biologist agree to seriously disagree

Cordelia Fine & Carole Hooven

Photo of the Phaistos Disc, an ancient clay tablet with spiral symbols, on a black background.

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Language and linguistics

The lonely life of a glyph-breaker

The heroic days of deciphering hieroglyphics and cuneiform make for great stories, but will we ever see that happen again?

Francesco Perono Cacciafoco