essay
Stories and literature
Vergil’s secret message
Long derided as mere coincidences, acrostics in ancient poetry are finally being taken seriously – with astonishing results
Julia Hejduk
video
Spirituality
Trek alongside spiritual pilgrims on a treacherous journey across Pakistan
6 minutes
essay
Work
Freedom at work
There is always a demand for more jobs. But what makes a job good? For that, Immanuel Kant has an answer
Tyler Re
video
Thinkers and theories
Photographs offer a colonialist window to the past – one that must be challenged
14 minutes
essay
Philosophy of language
Quantum poetics
How Borges and Heisenberg converged on the notion that language both enables and interferes with our grasp of reality
William Egginton
essay
Human rights and justice
Beyond obscenity
A century after the trial against ‘Ulysses’, we must revisit the civil liberties arguments of its defender, Morris Ernst
Brett Gary
video
Meaning and the good life
The world turns vivid, strange and philosophical for one plane crash survivor
16 minutes
essay
Thinkers and theories
Why seek self-realisation?
In the face of climate crisis it might seem myopic but philosophers from Spinoza to Næss argue it is the only way forward
Helen De Cruz
video
Art
Inside the unique creative space where ‘outsider’ artists find their form
14 minutes
video
Gender
When aggression is viewed as brilliance, it hurts women in science, and science itself
5 minutes
essay
History of ideas
Equality without compromise
Liberal philosophy has clipped the wings of the egalitarian ideal. We should return to the bolder ideals of Iris Murdoch
Christine Sypnowich
video
Religion
From God’s shoes to satellites in heaven – children weigh in on religion
8 minutes
essay
Political philosophy
Liberalism against capitalism
The work of John Rawls shows that liberal values of equality and freedom are fundamentally incompatible with capitalism
Colin Bradley
video
Stories and literature
Myths from Earth’s edge – what the Icelandic sagas reveal about Norse morality
57 minutes
essay
Thinkers and theories
Wittgenstein in the classroom
The philosopher understood that learning – of a concept, of ourselves, of each other – is the undertaking of a whole life
Calum Jacobs
video
Technology and the self
Why we should worry less about ‘sentient’ AIs and more about what we’re teaching them
16 minutes
essay
The ancient world
The great libraries of Rome
Passersby could wander at will into grand public libraries in imperial Rome. Could they trust what they found inside?
Fabio Fernandes
video
Art
Why European artists shifted their focus from power to peasants in the 16th century
5 minutes
essay
Philosophy of religion
Who was Duns Scotus?
His name is now the byword for a fool, yet his proof for the existence of God was the most rigorous of the medieval period
Thomas M Ward
essay
Thinkers and theories
Analytic women
Twin forces marginalised the women of early analytic philosophy. Correct those mistakes, and the next generation benefits
Jeanne Peijnenburg & Sander Verhaegh
essay
Thinkers and theories
The Indian pragmatist
Ambedkar was not only a politician, but a profound thinker whose philosophy of democracy challenged the caste system
Scott R Stroud
video
Political philosophy
Is the idea that democracy always benefits society misguided, or just mathematics?
7 minutes
essay
Religion
Miracles not magic
It took a tremendous effort to distinguish early Christianity from the finely tuned world of pagan beliefs and rituals
Martha Rampton
video
Fairness and equality
To build a fair society, we must first be able to envision it. John Rawls can help
64 minutes