Featured

Hobbes Reconsidered

Hobbes’s conception of humankind in a state of nature begins with the idea that everyone is more or less equal and free. (more...)

We and They

Nella Leontieva

Shortlisted entry for the Daily Philosophy Global Essay Contest 2024.

The Surprising Threat to Human Society

Daniel Gregory

How can philosophy help ensure the future of humanity? Shortlisted entry for the …

When Does a Fetus Have Rights?

Luke Roelofs

What sort of rights should a fetus or embryo have? A clear, comprehensive review of …

Videos

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Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha (1)

Hermann Hesse and Romanticism

Let's Read Together

Guides and Introductions

The Ultimate Guide to Epicurus

Biography, ideas, books

A comprehensive overview of Epicurus’ philosophy of happiness. Epicurus is one of the few ancient philosophers who are more relevant today than they were in their own times. Learn all about him right here. (more...)

Andreas Matthias

New Video Series: Western Ethics Theories

The Shortest Possible Overview

A new series of Daily Philosophy whiteboard explainer videos has just been published on YouTube. It gives a very short, and hopefully amusing, introduction to the main theories of Western ethics. (more...)

Andreas Matthias

Western Ethics Theories

The Shortest Possible Overview

We examine the basic ideas behind the four main Western ethics theories: utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, social contract ethics and virtue ethics. (more...)

Philosophy in Quotes

David E. Cooper

Jeremy Bentham on Animal Ethics

Philosophy in Quotes

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...)

Albert Schweitzer on the Reverence for Life

Philosophy in Quotes

Explore philosophy through its most famous quotes! Today: Philosopher and Theologian Albert Schweitzer on the Reverence for Life. (more...)

Immanuel Kant on Means and Ends

Philosophy in Quotes

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

Interviews

Luca Possati on Transhumanism

Philosopher interviews

Luca M. Possati is researcher at the University of Porto, Portugal. Educated as philosopher, he has been lecturer at the Institut Catholique de Paris and associate researcher of the Fonds Ricoeur and EHESS (Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales). (more...)

Roman Yampolskiy on the dangers of AI

Philosopher interviews

Dr. Roman V. Yampolskiy, professor in the Department of Computer Science and …

Andreas Matthias on Writing About Philosophy

Miguel Angel

Miguel Angel, editor and owner of Filosofia En La Red, interviews Andreas Matthias, …

Luis de Miranda on Philosophical Health

Philosopher interviews

Luis de Miranda lives in Sweden and is a philosophical practitioner, founder of the …

Book reviews

Ian James Kidd

Misanthropes – Literary and Philosophical

Book review: Misanthropy in the Age of Reason

Joseph Harris (2022). Misanthropy in the Age of Reason: Hating Humanity from Shakespeare to Schiller. Oxford University Press. 304 pages. Hardcover: 73. (more...)

Superhero Thought Experiments

Book review

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...)

Josh Milburn

Just Fodder Book Review

A reply to Andreas Matthias

Author’s reply to a review in Daily Philosophy of: Josh Milburn, “Just Fodder. The Ethics of Feeding Animals.” (more...)

Modern life

Epicurus and Luddism

Would we be happier without technology?

Technology, at least in the way that it is deployed in capitalism contradicts the essential simplicity of the ideal Epicurean life. (more...)

Brian Redekopp

The Chatbot

A Dialogue between Socrates and ChatGPT on Intelligence

A Dialogue between Socrates and ChatGPT on Intelligence. (more...)

Ian James Kidd

Taking Pessimism Seriously

Pessimism today has an ambivalent status. On the one hand, even a cursory glance at the world reveals a depressing abundance of dreadful events, tendencies, and phenomena. (more...)

Hermits

Robert Rodriguez on Hermits

Philosopher interviews

Robert Rodriguez is the author of The Book of Hermits and founder and editor of the website Hermitary. In this interview, he talks to us about the history of eremitism and the nature of hermit life. (more...)

David E. Cooper

Huts, Homelessness and Heimat

Chōmei and Heidegger

For Heidegger, we let things be what they are. Chōmei, steeped in the Buddhist conception of the interdependence of everything, would concur. (more...)

Three Modern Hermits

Following one’s own way

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...)

Classics

Plato and the Ancient Politics of Wine (2)

Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides

Plato’s use of drunkenness, mainly in the Symposium but also in the Phaedrus, is a …

Should Buddhists Be Social Activists?

Ian James Kidd

Buddhism is widely admired in the West for its commitments to progressive social …

Liberty, Democracy, Justice

F. Andrew Wolf Jr

In the Republic, Plato speaks of society in metaphorical terms as “our city of …

Inspiration

Human Dignity and Freedom

Why restaurant menus may be destroying humanity

Erich Fromm and Richard Taylor on the perils of capitalism.

Aristotle's Highest Good

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle argues that we can recognise the highest good …

Aristotle on being human

What is the function of human beings?

For Aristotle, happiness is connected to function. Everything in the universe has a …

Ethics

John Shand

Assisted Voluntary Euthanasia

The main arguments

This a systematic survey of the arguments and counterarguments that are most commonly in play when considering the ethical rights and wrong of euthanasia and whether it should be legally permitted. (more...)

Moral Relativism: What is a good country?

The Accented Philosophy Podcast

In this episode, Ezechiel and Andy discuss moral relativism and whether we can say that one society is “better” than another. Is the US better than North Korea? In what way? Is there an objective way to judge the “goodness” of a society? (more...)

Luke Roelofs

When Does a Fetus Have Rights?

What sort of rights should a fetus or embryo have? A clear, comprehensive review of the arguments. (more...)

Andreas Matthias

Western Ethics Theories

The Shortest Possible Overview

We examine the basic ideas behind the four main Western ethics theories: utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, social contract ethics and virtue ethics. (more...)

Sofia Jeppsson

Retributivism and Uncertainty

Why do we punish criminals?

Why do we have a criminal justice system? What could possibly justify the state punishing its citizens? Retributivism is the view that we ought to give offenders the suffering that they deserve for harming others. (more...)

Six Reasons to Legalise Recreational Drugs

The main arguments

Should we legalise recreational drug use or not? This article explains the most important six arguments in favour of the legalisation of recreational drugs. (more...)

Biographies

April 26, 121 AD: Marcus Aurelius is born

Reluctant emperor of Rome, fighter and Stoic philosopher

April 26, 121 AD marks the birthday of Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, who still inspires us today with his sense of humility and duty. (more...)

Gilbert Ryle (1900-1976)

Are philosophers like map-makers?

Gilbert Ryle (1900-1976) was a British philosopher, primarily concerned with the nature of the mind and the role of philosophy in the world. (more...)

September 22: John Conway (1937-2020)

The inventor of the Game of Life

John Horton Conway (1937-2020), mathematician, inventor of the “Game of Life” simulation of cellular automata. (more...)

Recent

April 26, 2025

Gregory Harms

Classical Liberalism

Liberalism is a political philosophy that centers on the idea of people being afforded fundamental freedoms or rights. (more...)

April 12, 2025

David E. Cooper

Nature, Beauty and Meaning

The beauty of a painting of a flower, mountain or sunset normally owes to how it depicts its object, to its rendering of nature. (more...)

April 5, 2025

Louai Rahal

The need to disconnect

Disconnecting from machines to better connect with oneself

Technology conditions us to spend less of our time experiencing life and more of our time recording it. (more...)

March 22, 2025

John Shand

Moral Statements and Truth

Moral value statements involve putting things in some order of worth, significance, or importance. (more...)

March 16, 2025

Gregory Harms

Descartes’s Meditations: An Introduction

Descartes can be certain of nothing anymore. Two plus two might not equal four, triangles might not have three sides, the sky might not be blue. (more...)

March 8, 2025

Rony Guldmann

Fat Acceptance and Vaccine Rejectionism

Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Nemen sparked a firestorm in October 2021 when he posted on Linkedin that America hadn’t been paying enough attention to obesity’s role in aggravating Covid’s dangers. (more...)