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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

Medieval painting of a circular walled city with towers and a large lamb statue on a roof, surrounded by countryside.

essay

Political philosophy

The allure of autarky

Liberal thinkers are shocked that nations are once again isolating from the world. The real surprise would be if they didn’t

Ben Chu

Mosaic of a man in a red coat and wide brimmed hat holding a scythe with three workers in the background on a patterned brick wall.

essay

Human rights and justice

Levelling the world

Gerrard Winstanley led a small band of radicals whose vision of justice encompassed the globe and continues to inspire

Rowan Wilson

Photo of a woman in a white dress and purple headscarf leaning against a wall, covering her face near green foliage.

essay

Human rights and justice

Struggling to wake

After a murderous kidnapping in Nigeria, I launched a campaign to put a stop to the abductions. Why did no one listen?

Ayisha Osori

Photo of dandelion seeds in flight against a blurred green forest background.

video

Meaning and the good life

Why Orwell urged his readers to celebrate the spring, cynics be damned

11 minutes

Photo of a large crowd celebrating outdoors with a person waving a South African flag energetically in the foreground.

essay

Political philosophy

A right to exist?

Since states are founded on violence and expulsion, their existence is always bound up in thorny questions about justice

Andrew F March

A man standing on a balcony of a brick apartment building, with tarps and debris in foreground.

essay

Politics and government

The end of neoliberalism?

The case of Mexico shows that, despite a proliferating discourse that it is over, neoliberalism is as relentless as ever

Inés Escobar González

Black and white photo of three people seated at an outdoor café table.

essay

Political philosophy

The underground university

During the Cold War, Oxford philosophers worked together to aid dissidents behind the Iron Curtain. I was one of them

Cheryl Misak

Historic photo of a large crowd gathered outside a gated building surrounded by trees, while two women in long dresses approach them from the building.

essay

Thinkers and theories

Who can claim Aristotle?

The endless battle over his legacy testifies to his great authority – and the power of his thought to make the world better

Edith Hall

Black-and-white photo of a man speaking into microphones held by the press outside a building, with a woman smiling at him in the background.

video

Political philosophy

The radical activist couple who fought for social change in the courtroom

21 minutes

A street with an American flag a mural of a vintage town scene and a black pickup truck passing by.

essay

Politics and government

The spectre of insecurity

Liberals have forgotten that in order for our lives not to be nasty, brutish and short, we need stability. Enter Hobbes

Jennifer M Morton

Photo of a light beige woven fabric with black and red borders on the sides, frayed edges at the bottom, and a black background.

essay

Political philosophy

Citizens and spinning wheels

For Indians to be truly free, Gandhi argued they must take up traditional crafts. Was it a quixotic hope or inspired solution?

Benjamin Studebaker

Black-and-white photo of a man in a suit and hat grabbing another man by his collar in front of a bar with bottles.

essay

Political philosophy

C L R James and America

The brilliant Trinidadian thinker is remembered as an admirer of the US but he also warned of its dark political future

Harvey Neptune

An old photograph of a man pulling a small cart with a child and belongings, followed by a woman and three children; one child is pushing a stroller.

essay

Thinkers and theories

Rawls the redeemer

For John Rawls, liberalism was more than a political project: it is the best way to fashion a life that is worthy of happiness

Alexandre Lefebvre

Aerial view of an industrial site emitting smoke, surrounded by snow-covered buildings and landscape, under a clear blue sky with birds flying overhead.

essay

Politics and government

Governing for the planet

Nation-states are no longer fit for purpose to create a habitable future for humans and nature. Which political system is?

Jonathan S Blake & Nils Gilman

President Eisenhower and Kwame Nkrumah talking. Nkrumah is wearing traditional African attire and pointing at Eisenhower, who is wearing a suit.

essay

Global history

The route to progress

Anticolonial modernity was founded upon the fight for liberation from communists, capitalists and imperialists alike

Frank Gerits

Black and white photograph depicts a flood with rising water levels in a residential area. Strong currents and waves are visible, and houses in the background are partially submerged. Floodwater covers much of the landscape, with a lone tree and partial wooden structure in the foreground.

essay

The future

The disruption nexus

Moments of crisis, such as our own, are great opportunities for historic change, but only under highly specific conditions

Roman Krznaric

Abstract geometric pattern featuring overlapping rectangular and house-like shapes in various colours, including orange, yellow, green, pink, blue, red, and black, with circular details. The shapes create a visually intriguing mosaic-like composition.

video

Political philosophy

Beyond the veil – what rules would govern John Rawls’s ‘realistic Utopia’?

6 minutes

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

A man and a woman in formal evening dress but with giant fish heads covering their faces are pictured beneath a bridge on the foreshore of a river

essay

The environment

Emergency action

Could civil disobedience be morally obligatory in a society on a collision course with climate catastrophe?

Rupert Read

A group of people, some on horseback, gather in a desert area under a motorway bridge. Some have flags and banners. Police cars can be seen in the background.

essay

Knowledge

What is ‘lived experience’?

The term is ubiquitous and double-edged. It is both a key source of authentic knowledge and a danger to true solidarity

Patrick J Casey

Painting of a scene in a historic European street with men dressed in colourful Renaissance attire, with hats and capes, and women in period clothing.

essay

Political philosophy

The battles over beginnings

Niccolò Machiavelli’s profound insights about the violent origins of political societies help us understand the world today

David Polansky

Seen from inside, a couple eat a basic meal whilst outside in an alleyway a queue of mostly older people wait their turn

essay

Political philosophy

Liberal socialism now

As the crisis of democracy deepens, we must return to liberalism’s revolutionary and egalitarian roots

Matthew McManus

Painting of a royal figure in elaborate attire with a sceptre, crown, and ornate background featuring a pillar and grand drapery.

essay

Thinkers and theories

Against power

As a republican, Sophie de Grouchy argued that sympathy, not domination, must be the glue that holds society together

Sandrine Bergès & Eric Schliesser

A puppet king in a red robe, holding a sceptre, stands in front of a decorative doorway, with one arm raised as if speaking or greeting.

video

Thinkers and theories

‘My art is oratory, Socrates.’ An ancient warning on the power and peril of rhetoric

4 minutes