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Logic and probability

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

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Abstract digital art with geometric shapes in various colours, forming the shape of a person’s head and shoulders, featuring black glasses in the centre.

essayEthics

The incompleteness of ethics

Many hope that AI will discover ethical truths. But as Gödel shows, deciding what is right will always be our burden

Elad Uzan

Black and white night photo of historic Gothic-style buildings with arched windows, towers and courtyards.

essayHistory of ideas

Ghosts among the philosophers

Cambridge, home of analytic philosophy, was also a hotbed of psychical research. How did this spooky subject take root?

Matyáš Moravec

A mural depicting houses and a woman, with a man walking in front; snow is falling, and there’s snow on the ground.

essayLogic and probability

What is incoherence?

We can all be inconsistent. Philosophy illuminates a bigger puzzle: how do we hold contradictory beliefs at the same time?

Alex Worsnip

Black-and white photo of a man wearing glasses and a suit sitting in a chair in front of a blackboard in a classroom.

essayThinkers and theories

We’ll meet again

The intrepid logician Kurt Gödel believed in the afterlife. In four heartfelt letters to his mother he explained why

Alexander T Englert

Man with glasses speaking, wearing a brown shirt. Background is blurred with a colourful painting visible.

videoMetaphysics

Why mathematical truths exist with or without minds to consider them

8 minutes

Handwritten text on squared paper, discussing the relationships between “laughs” and “cries” with overlapping oval diagrams illustrating various logical conditions.

essayLogic and probability

The patterns of reality

Some have thought that logic will one day be completed and all its problems solved. Now we know it is an endless task

Timothy Williamson

The title page and frontispiece engraving of an 18th-century book written in German. The title of the book is written in red in a Gothic font

essayThinkers and theories

The great, forgotten Wolff

Written for laymen, read by women and kings, Christian Wolff’s mathematical method made him a key Enlightenment philosopher

Michael Walschots

A marble sculpture of a contemplative woman wearing a headscarf, carved from a rough block of stone, with intricate details on the face.

essayThinkers and theories

Analytic women

Twin forces marginalised the women of early analytic philosophy. Correct those mistakes, and the next generation benefits

Jeanne Peijnenburg & Sander Verhaegh

Illustration of a diverse jury panel with thought bubbles showing a brain, scales of justice, and thumbs-up symbol above their heads.

videoPolitical philosophy

Is the idea that democracy always benefits society misguided, or just mathematics?

7 minutes

Elderly woman with short hair, wearing a black jacket and white shirt, speaking inside a room with large windows and blurred background.

videoPhilosophy of religion

How a devout Catholic philosopher approaches the problem of evil

8 minutes

Cartoon philosopher explains nature with thought clouds, quotes “Listen, I’ve got this all figured out.” Below, a happy character gives thumbs up beside a pig.

videoMeaning and the good life

Why Aristotle believed that philosophy was humanity’s highest purpose

9 minutes

Two people carry pumpkins near an Amoco petrol pump with a motorcyclist and a garage visible in the background.

essayMetaphysics

Are coincidences real?

I am an unequivocal rationalist and yet I still want to see something strange and wonderful in life’s weird coincidences

Paul Broks

A felted wool fox sculpture with bright yellow eyes stands in front of a blurred background of green trees.

videoLogic and probability

Chew over the prisoner’s dilemma and see if you can find the rational path out

6 minutes

An older man with curly grey hair and a striped shirt speaking outdoors, with a blurred background of rocks and water.

videoMetaphysics

Bertrand Russell wanted to kill off causation. Can contemporary philosophy rescue it?

8 minutes

Illustration of various animals surrounding a human figure wearing a crown, including a whale, dolphin, fox, owl, and more.

videoEthics

How many monkeys is it worth sacrificing to save a human life?

6 minutes

People standing in long, winding queues in a desert camp with numerous tents in the background under a clear blue sky.

essayEthics

Moral mathematics

Subjecting the problems of ethics to the cool quantifications of logic and probability can help us to be better people

Elad Uzan

Man with glasses and long hair in a dark suit, gesturing while speaking in a dimly lit room with bookshelves and two blue lamps in the background.

videoMetaphysics

Is the question ‘Why is there something instead of nothing?’ even worth asking?

9 minutes

A collage of various objects, animals, and clothes surrounding a large brain illustration on a black background.

videoLogic and probability

Is it more likely you’re a person with a past, or an ephemeral brain in a void?

6 minutes

Illustration of a person standing on top of a pyramid made from large bricks, with small plants growing around the structure.

videoMathematics

How a verbal paradox shattered the notion of total certainty in mathematics

5 minutes

Abstract image featuring a metallic sphere inside a grey circular tunnel, viewed towards a blurred gradient background.

essayPhilosophy of science

What is a law of nature?

Laws of nature are impossible to break, and nearly as difficult to define. Just what kind of necessity do they possess?

Marc Lange

Two scatter plots with points in a circular pattern centred at origin, labelled x and y axes ranging from -1 to 1.

videoLogic and probability

The unresolved probability paradox that goes to the heart of scientific objectivity

8 minutes

Reflection of an urban street scene, including people wearing hats and billboards, on a window with a white question mark on the glass.

essayLogic and probability

This paradoxical life

When logic fails to make sense of a world noisy with inconsistency, paraconsistent logics hold out (im)possible solutions

Zach Weber

A corridor with numbered wooden doors and illuminated wall lights stretching into the distance.

videoMathematics

Check in to the Hilbert Hotel, and learn why some infinities are bigger than others

6 minutes

Map showing Mumbai with a 6.2-metre sea rise, indicating affected areas.

videoEarth science and climate

How much can science really tell us about the future of climate change?

24 minutes