essay
Thinkers and theories
The scar of identity
Alexandre Kojève was an immense influence on many French thinkers. What was so compelling about his lectures on Hegel?
Samantha Rose Hill
essay
Consciousness and altered states
Stuck with the soul
The idea of the soul is obviously a nonsense, yet its immaterial mysterious nature has deep hooks in the human psyche
David P Barash
essay
Animals and humans
Where went the wolf?
The very attributes that make small dogs cute and popular are slowly strangling their ability to function as real animals
Jessica Pierce
video
Thinkers and theories
Jeremy Bentham was consumed by creating a perfect prison. Here’s the result
4 minutes
essay
Thinkers and theories
Masham and me
Were it not for her friendship with John Locke, the radical feminist gems of philosopher Damaris Masham might be unknown
Regan Penaluna
essay
Politics and government
Wielding death
When everyday life is marked by oppression and violence, can a martyr’s death truly be an act of freedom and resistance?
Umar Lateef Misgar
essay
Ethics
The ethics of human extinction
Why would it be so bad if our species came to an end? It is a question that reveals our latent values and hidden fears
Émile P Torres
essay
Bioethics
Selected before birth
Embryo risk screening could lower the odds of illnesses ranging from depression to diabetes. Can it be ethically done?
Todd Lencz & Shai Carmi
video
Logic and probability
Chew over the prisoner’s dilemma and see if you can find the rational path out
6 minutes
essay
Mental health
Secrets hurt their holders
Holding back the truth can take a huge toll on your relationships and your mental health. Why? And is there a better way?
Michael Slepian
video
Architecture
The radically impractical 18th-century architect whose ideas on beauty endure
19 minutes
essay
Ethics
If not vegan, then what?
A vegan diet can be hard to adopt, even if you’re convinced it’s the right thing to do. What are the next-best options?
Peter Godfrey-Smith
essay
Mental health
Under the mkone tree
When I returned to Kenya, where I grew up, I found biomedicine and traditional medicine in conversation about mental health
Priya Basil
essay
Philosophy of mind
Super-cooperators
Clear and direct telepathic communication is unlikely to be developed. But brain-to-brain links still hold great promise
Gary Lupyan & Andy Clark
essay
Knowledge
Known unknowables
The ancient Sceptics used doubt as a way of investigating the world. Later thinkers undermined even that possibility
Mahdi Ranaee
video
Metaphysics
Bertrand Russell wanted to kill off causation. Can contemporary philosophy rescue it?
8 minutes
essay
Animals and humans
Goodbye Pixel
Although it felt more like bereavement for a person than the loss of a thing, the death of a pet isn’t exactly like either
Julian Baggini
video
Ethics
How many monkeys is it worth sacrificing to save a human life?
6 minutes
essay
Thinkers and theories
Forgotten existentialist
Sartre gets much of the credit for existentialism. Karl Jaspers not only preceded him, but offered a way out of despair
Deborah Casewell
video
Human rights and justice
Thirty years after one teenager shot another, is it time to forgive?
28 minutes
essay
Life stages
Family passages
Each new generation learns from its elders. But familial voices now compete for influence with a chorus of urgent others
Elizabeth Svoboda
essay
Philosophy of mind
Philosophy’s blindspot
Education has long been ignored by contemporary philosophers. That is a myopic view that must change
David Bakhurst
video
Chemistry
A square inch in a Petri dish becomes a grand stage for chemical transformations
4 minutes
essay
History
The politics of pain
Medical science can only tell us so much. To understand pain, we need the cultural tools of history, philosophy and art
Rob Boddice