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
essay
Thinkers and theories
Remember Richard Price!
Demonised by the political establishment for his radical, dissenting views, this 18th-century Welsh polymath deserves better
Huw Williams
essay
Philosophy of religion
Reckoning with compassion
After an abuse scandal destroyed my Buddhist community, I had to reconsider what it means to live an ethically attuned life
Jessica Locke
video
Future of technology
Artificial ‘creativity’ is unstoppable. Grappling with its ethics is up to us
23 minutes
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
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
video
Ethics
How many monkeys is it worth sacrificing to save a human life?
6 minutes
video
Human rights and justice
Thirty years after one teenager shot another, is it time to forgive?
28 minutes
essay
Ethics
Moral mathematics
Subjecting the problems of ethics to the cool quantifications of logic and probability can help us to be better people
Elad Uzan
essay
Ethics
The lethal act
The Buddha taught not to kill, yet his followers have at times disobeyed him. Can murderers still be Buddhists?
Martin Kovan
video
Ethics
An animator wonders: can you ever depict someone without making them a caricature?
10 minutes
essay
Ethics
Collective wrongs
Even when individual perpetrators and victims are dead, states and institutions have a responsibility to make restitutions
Joshua Stein
essay
Human rights and justice
Abolish life sentences
It is unjust, cruel and profoundly wasteful to consign a person to prison for life. A decent society must not do it
Judith Lichtenberg
essay
Virtues and vices
The delights of mischief
Mischievousness requires humour, wit and a playful humaneness: qualities that make for a particular kind of virtue
Alex Moran
essay
Ethics
Through the eyes of another
It’s impossible to shed our individual biases. So the best way to establish objectivity is by taking on new perspectives
Heidi Maibom
essay
Virtues and vices
Is virtue signalling a vice?
Proclaiming one’s own goodness is deeply annoying. Yet signalling theory explains why it’s a peculiarly powerful manoeuvre
Tadeg Quillien
essay
Ethics
The Midas Disease
Corruption is a truly global crisis and the wealth addiction that feeds it is hiding in plain sight
Sarah Chayes
essay
Stories and literature
The way of dharma
How do ancient stories of talking elephants and singing birds encourage a life of truth, nonviolence and compassion?
Keerthik Sasidharan
essay
Ethics
We must not own animals
We will never truly advance our ethical relationship with other animals until we stop treating them as chattels for use
Gary L Francione
essay
Ethics
Why you should eat meat
Not eating animals is wrong. If you care about animals, then the right thing to do is breed them, kill them and eat them
Nick Zangwill
essay
Ethics
Stoics as activists
You might think of it as a philosophy for turning away from the world, but ancient Stoics took a stand against tyranny
Massimo Pigliucci
video
Animals and humans
An unflinching look at a provocative public dissection of a ‘surplus’ zoo lion
13 minutes
essay
Sleep and dreams
Inside your dreamscape
Dream-hacking techniques can help us create, heal and have fun. They could also become tools of commercial manipulation
Adam Haar Horowitz, Robert Stickgold & Antonio Zadra
essay
Bioethics
We are all frail
We should be able to acknowledge that disabilities can cause pain and suffering without disabled people feeling dehumanised
Tom Shakespeare