Philosophy

Thomas Colclough is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science at the University of California, Irvine. His research interests are generally focused on mathematical logic, the […]

The philosopher Allan Bloom once lamented: ‘There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth […]

The email from my daughter’s elementary school principal arrived one spring afternoon.  It stated that effective immediately for all elementary school students (K-6th grade), halter tops and spaghetti straps were […]

John Oliver uses humor to show how the vaccine debate stems largely from a causal fallacy. John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight discusses the sensitive topic of vaccine fears and the […]

The APA blog is working with Cliff Sosis of What is it Like to Be a Philosopher? in publishing advance excerpts from Cliff’s long-form interviews with philosophers. The following is an edited […]

“Many of us who are disabled are not particularly likeable or popular in general or amid the abled. Ableism means that we–with our panic attacks, our trauma, our triggers, our […]

Editor’s Note: This potentially controversial article title matches the syllabus title and, as explained by the author in the opening paragraph, is directly relevant to the course. We trust that […]

For progressive readers, existential philosophy reaches its apogee when it serves as the theoretical foundation for progressive political commitments and engaged activism. Existential thought may be vivified in this manner, […]

The racist killing of Georg Floyd in the Summer of 2020 created waves of protests not only in the U.S. but all over the globe. In Turkey, my home country, […]

Rey Chow is an acclaimed critical theorist and cultural critic who holds the position of Andrew W. Mellon Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Duke University, where she was a […]

Humanism, the secular philosophy that seeks meaning in life outside religion, is undergoing a revival in AustraliaWhen Heidi Nicholl moved to Australia five years ago, she remembers thinking: “Where is […]

Barry Jones responds to an article on the perils of groupthink and says that institutions must acknowledge creativity, tenacity and generosityMartin Kettle promotes three Ts for public engagement – truth, […]

Last week, I met England football greats Tony Adams and Teddy Sheringham to talk about the historic tournament. But I left with some lessons that go far beyond footballWarning: I […]

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsHow do we know we’re not living […]

A key maths tool during the pandemic came about because of an 18th-century debate about Christianity. The lesson we can draw today is that moral philosophy mattersDo the laws of […]

Soho theatre, London Newman dissects ideas with intelligence, running around the houses and back, on themes from politics and humanity to parenthoodA masked audience is a novelty at his gigs, […]

UK government proposals to recognise vertebrates as sentient beings are welcome, but this should be just the startLook a dog in the eye and a conscious being looks back. A […]

Readers reflect on the role of chance, randomness and responsibility in their own livesWhat high-quality letters (29 April) on free will. My A-level psychology students always found this fascinating and […]

The likes of Edward Said knew that the crucial issues of the day must be seen in shades of grey, not black and whiteCall it old age, call it the […]

Oliver Burkeman’s long read pitches philosophical readers against the more scientifically minded onesI read the online version of Oliver Burkeman’s long read that raises the question of whether free will […]

Ideological rifts widen as Catholic bishops ponder endangered forests and married priests

Islam’s followers are not so much firebrands as nomads in search of a home

Conflicts within Slavic Orthodoxy are having some strange side effects

Why Islamic debates over slavery matter to everyone

Despite the abolition of outdated laws, a culture of freedom is failing to take hold

A cherished tradition of independence can lead to abuses and poor management

The extraordinary events of 1989 are half-forgotten as clerics look elsewhere

It offers a fixed point in a transitory world

From the Roman to the Abrahamic, the prime minister’s spiritual history is a mess

Building bridges between an anti-racist movement and a conservative faith

I self-published erotica to make ends meet. Could I follow in Anaïs Nin’s footsteps or was I doomed to churn out filth? – by Sam Mills Read at Aeon

After decades of progress, cosmology is at a crossroads. Can it take its next big leap to solve the puzzles of dark matter? – by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

We live in a world that must move beyond identity politics and embrace new models of the mind. Enter psydiversity – by Bonnie Evans Read at Aeon

Why Hokusai’s Great Wave – created amid Japanese isolation – became a resounding artistic and commercial success worldwide – by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

Insect farming bakes, boils and shreds animals by the trillion. It’s immoral, risky and won’t resolve the climate crisis – by Jeff Sebo & Jason Schukraft Read at Aeon

A quick peek into the dynamics of herding behaviours in this mesmerising dance of sheep viewed from the sky above Israel – by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

Why is English spelling so weird and unpredictable? Don’t blame the mix of languages; look to quirks of timing and technology – by Arika Okrent Read at Aeon

Moral philosophy is bogus, a mere substitute for God that licenses ugly emotions. Here are five reasons to reject it – by Ronnie de Sousa Read at Aeon

How would a piano sound on Mars? Explore real and speculated soundscapes in this absorbing CGI voyage beyond Earth – by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

Adolescence isn’t a time of life so much as a frame of mind. Liberating yet damaging, it’s transformed the US and the world – by Paul Howe Read at Aeon

Foucault is renowned for his critical accounts of eminent libidos. If only he'd written a book about his own

It can seem like everyone who met Borges has a wild story to tell about their encounter. But how true are the stories?

There once was a priest whose "ideas run like a secret, subterranean river beneath the history of revolutionary thought." Judith Shulevitz explains

Video games come with weapons to upgrade, skills to gain, fictional currencies to spend. They’re seeming less like escapism and more like work

During a murderously internecine period in ancient Greece, Thebes boasted an elite army of homosexual men

In their haste to battle conservatives, liberal pundits have simplified critical race theory into a set of innocuous talking points, fit for schoolchildren

There are Nobel laureates, and then there are Nobel laureates. Steven Weinberg, who died last week, was in the second category  

Given a lack of Mongol documents, the Golden Horde has been studied through the lens of those it conquered. A reconsideration is in order  

We’ve undergone a decade of unprecedented interest in Black arts and letters. But where is the work of Black artists raised in poverty?  

English spelling is ridiculous. “Sew" and “new" don’t rhyme. “Kernel" and “colonel" do. Why?

by guest contributor Elena Yi-Jia Zeng The post Scepticism from the Pyrrhonian Crisis to Hume appeared first on JHI Blog.

By guest contributor Shaun Blanchard The post Was There a “Catholic Enlightenment?”: Rethinking Religion and the Age of Lights appeared first on JHI Blog.

Read the new issue of the Journal of the History of Ideas. The post JHI Issue 82.3 Now Available appeared first on JHI Blog.

by guest contributor Katherine Arnold The post Hydnora Africana: The ‘Hieroglyphic Key’ to Plant Parasitism appeared first on JHI Blog.

The Journal of the History of Ideas is delighted to welcome Manan Ahmed (Columbia University, History), Sophie Smith (University of Oxford, Politics), and Don J. Wyatt (Middlebury College, History) to […]

By guest contributor Matthew Johnson The post German as a Jewish Problem: An Interview with Marc Volovici appeared first on JHI Blog.