Philosophy

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

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

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

David Liggins

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

6 minutes

A sliver of reality

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

David H Wolpert

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

5 minutes

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

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

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

Nicholas Tampio

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

2 minutes

What Zen Buddhist riddles reveal about knowledge and the unknowable

5 minutes

How do you know?

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

Nate Sheff

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

5 minutes

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

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

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

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

7 minutes

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

5 minutes