This paper sets out to challenge the uncritical claim, presented as a mantra implying a virtual truism, that we should aim for ‘evidence-based decisions’. (more...)

Why does 2+2=4…? The answer may not be as simple as one thinks. (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...)

Hell is utterly impossible to put down just because of the sheer force of its language… (more...)

For a long time, we have been watching the public discussion on cultural appropriation. Many writers and philosophers, even guests we have interviewed here on Daily Philosophy, have been reluctant to discuss the topic in public. (more...)

Christopher Hamilton’s “Rapture” is a very pleasant, well-written, intelligent, and inspiring essay on the many meanings of human lives. (more...)

How did Islam begin and expand, what do Muslims believe, and what does the daily practice of a Muslim believer look like? (more...)

The paradox of fiction asks how we can experience genuine emotions for things that we know not to be real. (more...)

For every thing in the real world, there is a “perfect” image somewhere in the world of Forms. A perfect cat, a perfect tree, a perfect circle. (more...)

The mind-body problem concerns the relationship between the mind and the body (or the brain). Two major philosophical views on this problem are monism and dualism. (more...)

The philosophy of religion is a wide and varied field of study that is different from both theology and the history of religions. It touches metaphysics, epistemology and many other areas of philosophy. (more...)

In this series of posts, BVE Hyde presents a short but complete history of Japanese thought. This second part focuses on Confucianism. (more...)

This is about humour. I shall not make any clear distinction between humour in general and jokes, only to say that jokes are archly and tightly structured set pieces and a subgroup within humour. (more...)

Seemingly intractable paradoxes involved in speaking of the ineffable are based on a mistake. (more...)

In this series of posts, BVE Hyde presents a short but complete history of Japanese thought. This first part focuses on Japanese Buddhism. (more...)

What is Hermeneutics? ‘Hermeneutics’ is an ancient topic whose philosophical outlines have evolved through time. In a broad sense, hermeneutics can be defined simply as ‘interpretation,’ ‘the art of interpreting,’ or ‘the study of interpretation. (more...)

Peter Cave’s “How to Think Like a Philosopher” is a very enjoyable introduction into Western philosophy. Light, conversational, entertaining and intellectually stimulating. (more...)

A dictionary of philosophy with one exatly entry for each letter. (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...)

Philosophy is a field of study that attempts to answer questions that cannot be answered by providing some fact, but that require a deeper understanding of the question. (more...)

Awareness of the knowledge-effect is important because it is something we need strongly to guard against if we are to make good normative judgements. (more...)

The limits of language are all there before us in the everyday. For there is no description or account of the wind on your face (nor of the experience of seeing a red rose) that could give you any idea at all what the wind on your face was like to have. (more...)

Diotima, Socrates, Plato, Aspasia of Miletus, Aristotle, Confucius and Lao Zi are the most influential figures within their respective traditions. (more...)

In a valid argument, it is not possible that the conclusion is false when the premises are true. Or, in other words: In a valid argument, whenever the premises are true, the conclusion also has to be true. (more...)

At the core of the Stoic theory of happiness is our ability to control our thoughts. The wise man should try to exercise control over what they can control and not try to control what they cannot. (more...)

A ‘Stoic’ attitude to life aims to achieve lasting happiness by staying calm, rational and emotionally detached, while cultivating one’s virtues. (more...)

Lying is generally perceived as unethical behaviour. Depending on the moral theory used, lying in special circumstances (for example, “white” lies or lies that benefit others or avert harm) might be morally justifiable. (more...)

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...)

The Dao De Jing, one of the main books of Daoism, has always appealed to hermits. In this article, we look at it through a hermit’s eyes. (more...)

The Dao De Jing, literally “The Classic of the Way and the Virtue,” is traditionally attributed to an author known only as Lao Zi, which means “Old Master.” (more...)

Why is it so difficult to make predictions about society? The problem is not the complexity of the task, but the concepts we use to think about the world. (more...)

Can two people’s experiences and outlooks on life be so different that meaningful communication between them is impossible? Recent events suggest so. (more...)

One of his best known concepts of Marxism is the idea of “alienation” that describes how human beings get estranged from their work. (more...)

The human mind is unique and we know of no other comparable phenomenon in the universe. The philosophy of mind (monism, dualism, computationalism) attempts to explain what exactly the mind is. (more...)