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Philosophy

Essays and videos on philosophy, the history of ideas, ethics and life’s big questions

Beauty and aesthetics Bioethics Comparative philosophy Cosmopolitanism Death Ethics History of ideas Knowledge Logic and probability Meaning and the good life Metaphysics Philosophy of language Philosophy of mind Philosophy of religion Philosophy of science Political philosophy Thinkers and theories Values and beliefs Virtues and vices

Painting of a bustling 17th-century market square with people, horses and a church, surrounded by historic buildings and boats on a waterway.

essay

Global history

There are no pure cultures

All of our religions, stories, languages and norms were muddled and mixed through mobility and exchange throughout history

Inanna Hamati-Ataya

A historical map of Southern Europe, including parts of Austria, Hungary, Italy, Turkey, and the Balkans. Features cities such as Milan, Vienna, Rome, and Constantinople, with regions distinguished by different colours. Sea names such as the Adriatic and Mediterranean are also visible.

essay

Nations and empires

A United States of Europe

A free and unified Europe was first imagined by Italian radicals in the 19th century. Could we yet see their dream made real?

Fernanda Gallo

Young people lying on grass, reading books and studying, with backpacks and notes around them, on a sunny day.

essay

Stories and literature

Great books are still great

Read with love, rather than critical distance, the classics can provide tools to subvert oppressive hierarchies

Roosevelt Montás

Aerial view of numerous container ships on a shimmering sea with distant mountains under a clear sky.

essay

Economics

The biggest picture

No wonder we cannot agree on how globalisation works and whether it’s a good thing. All the stories we have are flawed

Anthea Roberts & Nicholas Lamp

Black and white close-up of a woman with a serious expression, holding her hand to her chin, looking into the distance.

essay

Mood and emotion

Feeling, in situ

What if emotions are not universal and hardwired but exquisite acts of meaning-making specific to context and culture?

Elitsa Dermendzhiyska

Black-and-white photo of an elderly monk with a pigeon on his head and a young monk holding a book and smiling at him.

essay

Philosophy of religion

Reincarnation now

Modern mindfulness strips Buddhism of its spiritual core. We need an ethics of reincarnation for an interconnected world

Avram Alpert

A woman in a pink headscarf and red cardigan who is Miranda July looking intently at something off-camera.

video

Cosmopolitanism

A pop-up charity shop in a luxury department store melds art, commerce and justice

10 minutes

Vintage photo of six men holding rifles and a handgun on a bed in a room with textured walls; the central figure is lying down with on leg in bandages.

essay

Nations and empires

Roving revolutionaries

Moving between the Russian, Iranian and Young Turk revolutions, cosmopolitan Armenians helped usher in the 20th century

Houri Berberian

Vintage-looking Black and white photo of a man in a car viewed from the rear side window, writing on paper with a pencil.

idea

Language and linguistics

Why learning a new language is like an illicit love affair

Marianna Pogosyan

Medieval manuscript illustration featuring a man in a black robe and headdress pointing right with handwritten text on the left.

idea

Stories and literature

Chaucer was more than English: he was a great European poet

Marion Turner

A group of people wearing traditional hats made of feathers, raising their hands in a ritual in a desert landscape.

idea

Cognition and intelligence

What happens to cognitive diversity when everyone is more WEIRD?

Kensy Cooperrider

A bride in traditional Indian attire with a groom in the background, both adorned in intricate jewellery during a wedding ceremony.

idea

Love and friendship

Love in a time of migrants: on rethinking arranged marriages

Farhad Mirza

An outdoor orchestra performance at an ancient amphitheatre with a large audience and historic stone architecture.

idea

History

A history of true civilisation is not one of monuments

David Wengrow

An Arab man adult reading a colourful Western picture book to a girl on a sofa with a framed artwork featuring Arabic calligraphy on the wall.

idea

Language and linguistics

Raising a multilingual family is hard – what makes it work?

Olga Mecking

A historical painting depicting an ancient royal ceremony, with a central figure on a red platform surrounded by crowds in traditional attire.

idea

Music

Was Cairo’s grand opera house a tool of cultural imperialism?

Adam Mestyan

Vintage photo of a waitress in a diner sitting on a counter stool, smoking a cigarette, with kitchen equipment in the background.

essay

Political philosophy

A history of alienation

In the postwar period it was understood to be the fundamental malaise of modern life. Why aren’t we ‘alienated’ any more?

Martin Jay

Black-and-white photo of George Orwell with a moustache and suit jacket speaking into a BBC microphone, appearing thoughtful and smiling.

idea

Economic history

How Orwell used wartime rationing to argue for global justice

Bruce Robbins

Black and white photo of a jet engine and its rear section on the tarmac, with a hangar wall in the background.

idea

Economics

Everyone in the world should be taxed on their energy footprint

Iason Athanasiadis

Ancient map of Athens and its surrounds by M Barbie du Bocage, September 1785, showing landmarks and geographical features.

idea

Cosmopolitanism

When I help you, I also help myself: on being a cosmopolitan

Massimo Pigliucci

A woman in a pink skirt and black headscarf interacting with a group of children in a classroom setting.

essay

Philosophy of language

The death of languages

Endangered languages have sentimental value, it’s true, but are there good philosophical reasons to preserve them?

Rebecca Roache

Three cuckoo clocks in the style of Swiss chalets with figurines holding Swiss flags hanging on a perforated display board.

essay

Nations and empires

Why nation-states are good

The nation-state remains the best foundation for capitalism, and hyper-globalisation risks destroying it

Dani Rodrik

An elderly man with a long beard writing at a cluttered desk in a room filled with papers, books and various memorabilia.

essay

Stories and literature

Readers of the world unite

How markets, Marx, and provincial elites created world literature to fight both empire and nationalism

Martin Puchner

Black and white photo of a man walking a dog in a narrow street, with a Coca-Cola delivery truck and old buildings in the background.

essay

Nations and empires

Les Anglo-Saxons

Not just American or British, the Anglo-Saxon is a mirror to Frenchness: the country’s alter-ego and most feared enemy

Emile Chabal

Three men sitting on the incomplete deck of a suspension bridge under construction, with cityscape in the background.

idea

Mathematics

Global cooperation depends on the strength of local connections

Benjamin Allen