Socrates’s legacy is one of philosophy as intervention and enlightenment of public life. Could contemporary academic philosophers play a similar role? The Enlightenment’s legacy, still alive in the academy today, sees philosophers as the holders of reason …
Our fictionalised fears that AI is going to take over the world and replace humans, has driven much of the discussion around AI ethics. There is much talk of the need to put “the human” and “human values” at the centre when developing AI technology. But “ …
The dualisms of mind and body, individual and community, have troubled Western philosophy for centuries. Jean Luc Nancy who died on August 23, aged 81, made it his mission to overcome them. Despite his incredible wide range of interests and prolific output …
When the world is going through great shocks, it can seem that the future will be radically and immediately transformed by them. But looking at how past crises played out, we find that most of them affected the world in limited and gradual ways. The post- …
With Afghanistan now under Taliban rule and the terror threat the worst it has been in years, it is time to reassess the nuclear terror threat. The 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, and as we remember the most world-shifting terror attack to date, we …
Answering the question can seem to be a simple matter of adding up the costs and benefits resulting from the measures. But things are a lot more complicated than that. What counts as a benefit or a cost is far from obvious. Even if we agreed to what they …
Many think of fascism as a phenomenon of the 20th century. But fascism isn’t history, it has simply mutated and adapted to the new millennium. It is more philosophically informed and operationally savvy, and at the same time just as against the modern …
Einstein's theory of general relativity has been tested to remarkable precision. Yet from the theoretical problems posted by singularities to the unexplained nature of dark energy, some serious physicists are troubled by the theory's shortcomings. …
Joe Biden’s slogan that it was time “to end the forever war” in Afghanistan was called imbecilic by former Prime Minister Tony Blair. But while the slogan might indeed be simplistic, it has proved remarkably effective and points to a deep truth: forever is …
We don’t need ethics experts to tell us what the right thing to do is. We feel it in our bones. Our conscience screams out to us and demands we make the ethical choice. But doing the right thing is often synonymous with doing the difficult thing. And so, …
The origin of consciousness was a world-defining event, comparable only with the origin of life itself. But the moment that consciousness emerged is buried deep in the evolutionary record and is hard to identify. In this article, Simona Ginsburg and Eva …
Richard Rorty’s critique of the concept of “The Truth” as a useless historic relic continues to enflame philosophers and cultural commentators alike. They see Rorty as the architect of the post-truth era and as morally culpable for the human suffering they …
Umberto Eco’s quip “There is no news in August” hasn’t really been falsified as much as confirmed this summer. Eco was being ironic - just because the political class goes on holiday in the summer doesn’t mean that big events stop happening. But the …
Democracy has achieved some incredible things, making our societies more equal and just. But in recent years rather than being an efficient mechanism for collective decision-making and progress, democracy seems to be fueling discord, division, and distrust …
Most of us feel as though we can freely choose our actions. But what if this feeling of free choice is an illusion? From neuroscientists to spiritualists to philosophers, many are now arguing that the feeling of free will is a fantasy. Is your life …
After 20 years, Biden finally got the US military out of Afghanistan. Even though it can seem to signal the end of an era for US interventionism, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Leaving Afghanistan is simply a necessary step in America’s new …
The latest report on climate change is in. The warnings are as stark as ever, but the language still suggests that climate change is something that can be solved, once and for all, if only we adopted the right policies. But instead of clinging on to the …
After years without particle physics making the news, recent announcements suggest a breakthrough. Could a new fundamental force also explain the mystery of the three generations of matter? Harry Cliff weighs up the case. Most of my colleagues would …
The map is not the territory. The modelled brain is not consciousness. ‘This’ – the ineffable quality of subjective experience – is consciousness. No scientific description can ever reach it. The psychedelic experience allows us to get behind our models, …
As much as our culture idolizes beauty, it also thinks it’s shallow and superficial. But both of these evaluations get something wrong. The idea of beauty as only skin-deep is based on a long-debunked division between body and soul. Yet the fleeting …
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