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Philosophy

Essays and videos on philosophy, the history of ideas, ethics and life’s big questions
Known unknowables | Aeon
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essay

Knowledge

Known unknowables

The ancient Sceptics used doubt as a way of investigating the world. Later thinkers undermined even that possibility

Mahdi Ranaee

The herd in the head | Aeon
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History of ideas

The herd in the head

It is enormously empowering – even intoxicating – to lose yourself to a crowd. That is why we need contrarians

Costica Bradatan

This essay isn’t true | Aeon
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Metaphysics

This essay isn’t true

Alethic nihilism is the theory that nothing is true. There is much to gain by taking this radical idea seriously

David Liggins

Names for snow | Aeon
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video

Knowledge

Yes, the Inuit have dozens of words for snow – but what does each one mean exactly?

6 minutes

Jesuits in the boardroom | Aeon
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Economic history

Jesuits in the boardroom

As corporations struggle to survive in a more uncertain world, they should look to the success of the Society of Jesus

Paolo Quattrone

A dinosaur is a story | Aeon
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Palaeontology

A dinosaur is a story

As Brontosaurus tells us, in science as in fiction, the stories we tell to understand the world are always being revised

Nathaniel Goldberg & Chris Gavaler

A sliver of reality | Aeon
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Knowledge

A sliver of reality

Science and mathematics may never fully capture the physical universe. Are there hard limits to human intelligence?

David H Wolpert

How do you know you’re not dreaming? | Aeon
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video

Metaphysics

Knowing if you’re awake seems simple. Why has it vexed philosophers for centuries?

5 minutes

Imaginology | Aeon
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Knowledge

Imaginology

We need a new kind of approach to learning that shifts imagination from the periphery to the foundation of all knowledge

Stephen T Asma

Truth is real | Aeon
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Knowledge

Truth is real

For a century, the idea of truth has been deflated, becoming terrain from which philosophers fled. They must return – urgently

Crispin Sartwell

Scepticism as a way of life | Aeon
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Thinkers and theories

Scepticism as a way of life

The desire for certainty is often foolish and sometimes dangerous. Scepticism undermines it, both in oneself and in others

Nicholas Tampio

My God, it’s full of stars | Aeon
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video

Knowledge

A poet’s ode to the Hubble Telescope – and to her father, who helped to build it

2 minutes

Fringe theories stack | Aeon
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History of science

Fringe theories stack

Believe in the Loch Ness monster and you’re more likely to believe the Apollo missions were fake. How do weird beliefs work?

Michael D Gordin

Zen kōans | Aeon
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video

Philosophy of religion

What Zen Buddhist riddles reveal about knowledge and the unknowable

5 minutes

Powers of ten, updated | Aeon
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video

Cosmology

Revisiting ‘Powers of Ten’ – what we’ve learned about the Universe since 1977

7 minutes

How do you know? | Aeon
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Knowledge

How do you know?

Correct information doesn’t always come with its own bright halo of truth. What makes something worth believing?

Nate Sheff

The Rashomon effect | Aeon
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video

Knowledge

What can a Kurosawa classic tell us about reality, knowledge and truth?

5 minutes

A good scrap | Aeon
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Social psychology

A good scrap

Disagreements can be unpleasant, even offensive, but they are vital to human reason. Without them we remain in the dark

Ian Leslie

Philosophy’s lack of progress | Aeon
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History of ideas

Philosophy’s lack of progress

For centuries, all philosophers seem to have done is question and debate. Why do philosophical problems resist solution?

Chris Daly

Against public philosophy | Aeon
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Political philosophy

Against public philosophy

For Leo Strauss, public life was muddied by opinion and persecution, so philosophers should shield their work from view

Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft

Philosophy with children | Aeon
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Knowledge

Philosophy with children

Kids don’t just say ‘the darndest things’. Playful and probing, they can be closer to the grain of life’s deepest questions

Jana Mohr Lone

Utuqaq | Aeon
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Earth science and climate

‘Ice has a memory’ – an Inuit poem contemplates scientific exploration of Greenland

28 minutes

Kierkegaard’s horror of doubt | Aeon
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Knowledge

Want to think for yourself? Start with an agonising state of doubt, says Kierkegaard

7 minutes

Mary’s room | Aeon
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video

Knowledge

Can you know everything about colour if you see in black and white? A thought experiment

5 minutes