Freedom and choice
![Graffiti in French reading “L’ART C’EST DE LA MERDE” is painted on a concrete wall. The words are written in black, casual handwriting, with a smaller, less legible text scribbled underneath. A piece of paper is fixed to the top right side of the wall.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/3ac5e6c9-dede-4e50-aa74-01161a69b5df/rt-final-par345266.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Communication and language
idea
Censoring offensive language threatens our freedom to think
The modern obsession with textual purity stems from a misapplication of the philosophies of Wittgenstein and Derrida
by Paul Ham
![A rotating antique globe in brass and other materials seen from above](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/3a11f587-bd59-43eb-b2a8-afc9a965437f/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Freedom and choice
idea
Recognise free will is an illusion and reap the emotional benefits
The idea that all our choices are determined by past events may seem dispiriting – but it can be emotionally liberating
by Francis Merson
![A wooden door with a brass push plate and push sign, looking out to a blurred street view with a parked car.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/9a5060b1-113d-4d2a-9a6c-9cdf40398d3e/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Freedom and choice
guide
How to think about free will
You can’t escape cause and effect, but there is a way of viewing human agency that is motivating, plausible and humane
by Julian Baggini
![A person in vibrant, multicoloured activewear energetically poses with arms outstretched, while another stands behind. A jumper is mid-air above them.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/91371310-a9bd-4a33-b1d6-837e624c8a00/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Freedom and choice
film
Pablo has a simple dream – to spread joy. But the reality is more complicated
Directed by Daniel Ifans
![Person diving into an icy blue waterhole amidst a frozen landscape, with scattered ice chunks and a stack of icy blocks nearby.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/04503586-9a10-44a6-9938-fa298afd4635/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Freedom and choice
idea
The three reasons why it’s good for you to believe in free will
Regardless of whether humans do or don’t have free will, psychological research shows it’s beneficial to act as if you do
by Kennon Sheldon
![A woman sitting inside a red double-decker bus at night, with a busy street and shops in the background.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/490c8de8-56da-4bfc-9af0-2a7de6f6d195/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Freedom and choice
idea
Why not driving is my own form of resistance
As romantic petrochemical-fuelled narratives slip into the past, I’ve found my own kind of freedom in a life without a car
by Vicky Grut
![A woman leans against a red column on a train platform, with a moving train blurred in the background.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/ffd18bb8-e4c0-447b-8da9-33f81c34946b/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Goals and motivation
guide
How to know what you really want
From career choices to new purchases, use René Girard’s mimetic theory to resist the herd and forge your own path in life
by Luke Burgis
![A dish of roasted chicken garnished with lemon slices, bean sprouts, and fresh mint in a clay pot, with a person arranging lemon slices on a nearby plate.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/d5a18ffc-b8ba-4df5-8829-b381eb1a6d85/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Food and drink
film
Founding the ‘world’s best’ restaurant made Sally happy. So did selling it
Directed by Ben Proudfoot
![A wooden box filled with vintage black-and-white photographs, showing portraits and various scenes, some faded with age.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/fbfe502d-48e9-4399-83ab-b7545ce52d68/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Parenting and families
idea
I’m childfree by choice. Should I feel guilty about ending my line?
My uterus is not my ancestors’ vessel for future progeny. What’s the impact of my choice on my family’s genetic lineage?
by Starre Vartan
![Illustration of a man in a spacesuit contemplating a small pill; background features images of a naked woman and a steak.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/8b4bce56-d400-4ad5-9773-1deb7d287ca0/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Food and drink
idea
What our fantasies about futuristic food say about us
Once ‘future foods’ were powdered and automatic, but times change and today they have become about speed and social justice
by Kelly Alexander
![A man recently released from prison standing on a rock by a tranquil lake, surrounded by dense green trees and under a partly cloudy sky.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/d17d9eb5-4972-4bb6-a128-b435f2334e94/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Freedom and choice
film
After decades in prison, Jack navigates the strange, beautiful outside world
Directed by Pete Quandt