Explore philosophy through its most famous quotes! Today: Immanuel Kant on how to treat human beings. (more...)

Explore philosophy through its most famous quotes. Today: Marcus Aurelius, Meditations: “It is in our power to have no opinion about a thing, and not to be disturbed in our soul…” (more...)

A history of philosophy in its most famous quotes. Today: Jeremy Bentham on the suffering of animals: “The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?” (more...)

Tartaglia’s sometimes uneven exploration of how philosophy could be popularised is hugely amusing and entertaining at places, but it also has parts that don’t quite live up to its promise. (more...)

Superhero Thought Experiments, by Chris Gavaler and Nathaniel Goldberg, is a very enjoyable book that presents classic arguments from philosophy by discussing examples of superhero comics. (more...)

Review of Uriah Kriegel (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Philosophy of Consciousness, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2020, by Prof. Robert Zaborowski. (more...)

Eating small quantities of meat that was grown in a sustainable way might be morally justifiable, while large-scale animal farming is probably morally wrong. (more...)

Social media affect our society in many ways: addiction, democracy, the decline of journalism, privacy, surveillance, and effects on friendships. (more...)

1. What I wish to do is to look at the value of art in the wide human cultural context, most fundamentally indeed as part of the human condition. (more...)

We visit three very different hermits: Agafia Lykova in remote Siberia, Mauro Morandi on a Mediterranean island paradise, and Lincolnshire nun Rachel Denton. What unites them and gives their lives meaning? (more...)

Tom Neale spent a total of fourteen years alone on a little island in the Suwarrow Atoll in the South Pacific, where he found peace and happiness in solitude. We have a look at this extraordinary life. (more...)

Robert Rodriguez’ “The Book of Hermits” is a work of impressive scholarship, covering the global history and lore of eremitism from antiquity to the present. (more...)

In our societies, an impressive array of vices is on display. Hypocrisy, greed, cruelty, prejudice… But what if many of these vices were necessary for human life? (more...)

My question was – and still is – a short good life with a pain free death, or no life at all, which would you prefer? A reply to Petrică Nițoaia. (more...)

It is often supposed that greater empathy is a good thing. But this is a mistake, unless one assumes that being empathetic will inevitably bring it about that one treats others better. (more...)

In this episode, Ezechiel and Andy discuss the ethics of the death penalty, and particularly the question whether other countries have the right to withhold the drugs used in US executions. (more...)

Is abortion ethical? Philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson created one of the most well-known thought experiments in modern ethics. In her 1971 paper “A Defense of Abortion,” she presents the thought experiment of the unconscious violinist. (more...)

Why is there such a difference between the picture of morality one gets from books and the one so many people encounter in real life? (more...)

Thales of Miletus is generally cited as one of the first philosophers, although his contributions extended to many sciences and even to business endeavors. (more...)

Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek (August 19, 1921 - October 24, 1991). (more...)

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) was a celebrated Roman writer, public speaker and philosopher and is today seen (alongside Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius) as one of the three greatest ancient Stoics. (more...)

In collectivist societies, personal failure is rarely experienced privately. One person’s choices are seen as reflecting upon the entire family. (more...)

The tragedy may be less about desire than we assume, and more about origin, order, and the wrong inner position. (more...)

Humans are the only species that can both cause and contemplate their own extinction. Our enormous technological and philosophical abilities put us in a unique existential situation. (more...)

Instead of pretending that animal rearing is a just endeavour, may we face the real nature of this practice. (more...)

Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt renders this shift visible through a sexual misconduct allegation at Yale University. (more...)

James Romm (2026). Since You’re Mortal…: Life Lessons from the Lost Greek Plays. W.W. Norton and Company. 176 pages. Get it here: Amazon US, publisher’s website. (more...)