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Books:

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Andreas Matthias

James Tartaglia: Inner Space Philosophy

Book review
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...)
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Andreas Matthias

Timothy Morton: Hell

Book review
Hell is utterly impossible to put down just because of the sheer force of its language… (more...)
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Abortion: The Unconscious Violinist Argument

Judith Jarvis Thomson: A Defense of Abortion
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...)
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Andreas Matthias

Christopher Hamilton: Rapture

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

Kant's conception of freedom

Using reason to resist manipulation
Kant on using reason to critically examine our inclinations and uncover the forces that manipulate and misinform us. (more...)
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Miles Erickson

A Better Society?

Bonanno's utopian anarchism
Bonanno stands apart with his radical, borderline utopian critique of modern society. (more...)
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The Power of Love

Erich Fromm’s The Art of Loving
In his book “The Art of Loving,” psychoanalyst and philosopher Erich Fromm discusses how love is misunderstood in modern societies. (more...)
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The Universe as a Game

Hermann Hesse’s Glass Bead Game (4)
Hermann Hesse’s Glass Bead Game is a grand vision of a formal system that describes the hidden harmony of the universe. (more...)
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The Fabled East

Hermann Hesse’s Glass Bead Game (3)
Hermann Hesse’s Glass Bead Game contains multiple references to Chinese philosophy and religion. We unpack Hesse’s orientalist utopia. (more...)
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The Province of the Mind

Hermann Hesse’s Glass Bead Game (2)
At the centre of Hermann Hesse’s Glass Bead Game is a grand vision of life in Castalia, a province of scholars. (more...)
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Would a Society of Intellectuals Be a Better Place?

Hermann Hesse’s Glass Bead Game
Hermann Hesse’s ‘The Glass Bead Game’ may be his greatest novel. It combines a theory of history and education with Zen, and meditations on friendship and duty. (more...)
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Andreas Matthias

Just Fodder. The Ethics of Feeding Animals

Book review
Josh Milburn’s “Just Fodder” is a very thoughtful and rigorous analysis of the ethical issues related to feeding animals. (more...)
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Coronation: The Captivating Story of Monarchies

Moore and Gillette on what makes a king
In this article, which accompanies the third in our series of philosophy videos, we look at the spiritual side of royalty. (more...)
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Unpacking Descartes’ Meditations

A Daily Philosophy primer
This short primer explores René Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, his contribution to rationalism, and his impact on early modern philosophy. (more...)
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Andreas Matthias

How to Think Like a Philosopher

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

The Cicada and the Bird

Chuang Tzu's ancient wisdom translated for modern life
For Chuang Tzu, the Tao is the surface isness (the presenting phenomenology) of things. Excerpt from the book The Cicada and the Bird by Christopher Tricker. (more...)
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Thomas O. Scarborough

Passing Beyond Descartes

Ever since René Descartes wrote, in 1641, ‘The mind is really distinct from the body,’ we have struggled with the mind-body problem. (more...)
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John Shand

Books that Lead You to Philosophy

Karl Popper: The Open Society and Its Enemies
What are the books that brought us to philosophy? For John Shand, philosophy professor at the Open University, it was Karl Popper’s “The Open Society and Its Enemies” (more...)
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Kunal Kashyap

A Short History of Happiness

From Eudaimonia to Gross National Happiness
The pursuit of happiness has always been one of the main driving forces of human lives. This article recounts the amazing history of the concept of happiness, from ancient times to today, from Eudaimonia to Gross National Happiness. (more...)
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Livio Rossetti

The Homeric Poems First of All

The poems of Homer, the Ilias and the Odyssey, mark the proper start of Greek civilization and can be seen as what shaped Greek identity, argues ancient philosophy Professsor Livio Rossetti. (more...)
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Glory White

50 Answers

What do religions say about fate?
An insightful new book sheds light on how a rich tapestry of religions answer life’s biggest questions. (more...)
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How Free is Free Enough?

Ronald Dworkin on free speech and censorship
Today, we are confronted with the need to weigh free speech against other values like inclusivity, respect and tolerance. We look at the arguments of philosopher Ronald Dworkin in defence of free speech. (more...)
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Five Most Inspiring Philosophy Books

Life-changing wisdom for your summer reading list
Looking for a life-changing summer read? Here are Daily Philosophy’s recommendations for five of the most inspiring books that everyone should know. (more...)
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Erich Fromm on How to Be Happy

A new Daily Philosophy book
Daily Philosophy has launched a new book, “Erich Fromm on How to Be Happy,” which takes us on a journey to the world of the Frankfurt School and Social Psychology. (more...)
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Epicurus: A Guide to the Principal Doctrines

Text, commentary and study guide
The Principal Doctrines is the main work of Epicurus on happiness. This article presents the original text with explanations and discussion questions. It also includes tips for organising an Epicurus reading group or book club. (more...)
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The Dialectic of Enlightenment

Horkheimer, Adorno and the Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School is generally taken to mean a lose collection of thinkers who first congregated around the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (more...)
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Michael Hauskeller

Nothing Matters. Or Does It?

What exactly do we mean when we say that “nothing matters”? More than sixty years ago, the British philosopher Richard Mervyn Hare attempted to answer this question in an early essay. (more...)
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Five More Inspiring Philosophy Books for Your Christmas

Our big Christmas gifts guide, part 2
Daily Philosophy’s recommendations for five more of the most inspiring books for your Christmas presents list. The best from Jill Taylor, John Stevens, Bill Porter, Eugen Herrigel and Aldous Huxley. With tips on whom to gift each book. (more...)
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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...)
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Robert Rodriguez: The Book of Hermits

Book review
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...)
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One Hundred Days in a Hermit’s Hut

Jane Dobisz on living alone in the woods
In her honest and entertaining book “One Hundred Days of Solitude: Losing Myself and Finding Grace on a Zen Retreat,” Zen teacher Jane Dobisz recalls the three months she spent as a young person alone in a hut in the woods, bowing, chanting and meditating. (more...)
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Michael Hauskeller

Happy in a Concentration Camp?

It's possible, says Viktor E. Frankl
Viktor Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who, because of his Jewish descent, spent the last six months of World War II in a German concentration camp, which he barely survived. (more...)
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Catherine Greene

Asimov’s Psychohistory

The illusive quest to predict the future
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...)
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Stephanie Mills: Epicurean Simplicity

Is a simple life the key to happiness?
In her book “Epicurean Simplicity,” author and activist Stephanie Mills analyses what is wrong with our modern way of life. (more...)
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Michael Hauskeller

The Real Happiness Machine

Ray Bradbury on living and dying well
In many of Bradbury’s stories we can find an entire philosophy of life that is well worth discovering and adopting. (more...)
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Aldous Huxley’s “Island”

An even braver new world?
The last book of visionary writer Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), Island, is a bold attempt to envision a utopian society that provides its members with everything they need to achieve happiness in life. (more...)
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Introductions to Philosophy

The three best books for the beginner
We discuss the three best introductory books to philosophy. (more...)
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Novalis and the Romantic View of the World

From the Romantics to modern science
German Romantics, much like their English counterparts, valued spontaneity and naturalness, in part as a reaction to the beginning loss of the natural world due to industrialisation and urbanisation. (more...)
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Podcast Episodes [all]

  • 100. Descartes Discourse on the Method and Meditations (Livestream) - Part 2
  • 099. Descartes: I think therefore I am (Livestream) - Discourse on the Method Part 1
  • 098. Plato's Symposium - Part 3 (Livestream)
  • 097. Plato's Symposium - Part 2 (Livestream)
  • 096. Plato's Symposium - Part 1 (Livestream)
[All Episodes]

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