philosophy
Pseudoscience is science’s shadow.
Did traditional Chinese thought pave the way for the philosophy of Maoism?
Signals from the environment, such as those detected by your sense organs, have no inherent psychological meaning. Your brain creates the meaning.
When faced with too many choices, many of us freeze — a phenomenon known as “analysis paralysis.” Why? Isn’t choice a good thing?
Speculation about the existence of aliens goes all the way back at least to the Greek philosophers. Their arguments will sound familiar.
Safety through technology is no bad thing—Nietzsche himself sought doctors and medicines throughout his life—but it can become pathological.
Millions of people have had a near-death experience, and it often leads them to believe in an afterlife. Does this count as good proof?
If secrets are a kind of poison, confession is the antidote.
Today, we could use Big Data to radically reform democracy. Tomorrow, we could build nanofabricators and usher in an era of abundance. Is society ready?
Moral dilemmas reveal the limitations of ethical principles. Oddly, the most principled belief system might not have any principles at all.
Realism in science cannot be completely unmoored from human experience. Otherwise, realism ends up tortured with unreal paradoxes.
When was the last time you spent some quality time with yourself?
Many atheists think of themselves as intellectually gifted individuals, guiding humanity on the path of reason. Scientific data shows otherwise.
According to Tolkien, fantasy requires a deep imagination known as “sub-creation.” And the genre reflects a fundamental truth of being human.
If we are wreaking havoc on ourselves and the world, it is because we have become mesmerized by a mechanistic, reductionist way of thinking.
Will all robots think like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg?
There is much more to the Kama Sutra than just sex. It’s a guide to anyone wanting more pleasure in life, however they take it.
Many people perceive the struggle to understand our Universe as a battle between science and God. But this is a false dichotomy.
Wander into the deep recesses of the mind and never return the same with these existentialist books.
From Brahms to Tchaikovsky, here’s a curated list of composers whose music has shaped the classical canon.
It’s possible to measure philosophy’s progress in two ways. But is that really the point?
The relationship between these two ways of thinking about the world deserves deeper exploration.
The attitude we take to Will Smith’s slap will mirror our attitudes to violence, masculinity, and protecting others more generally.
By toppling medieval Europe’s mightiest political power, the Protestant Reformation ushered in a new age of freedom, religious and otherwise.
Modern applications of Stoicism show up in unexpected places, from the latest techniques in psychotherapy to texts on Christian theology.
Science and the humanities have been antagonistic for too long. Many of the big questions of our time require them to work closer than ever.
We imagine and debate the inner lives of literary characters, knowing there can be no truth about their real motives or beliefs. Could our own inner lives also be works of fiction?
Outrage is a useful emotion that helped our ancient ancestors survive. Today, it leaves us feeling angry, tired, powerless, and miserable.
Nostalgia is a happy remembrance of the past, yet it also leaves us feeling sad. Perhaps ironically, it can serve as a painkiller.