History of ideas
![Marble statue of Hermaphroditus, depicting a naked human figure with male and female features, leaning forward slightly and holding a draped cloth in one hand, set against a plain background. The statue lacks a head.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/6dc2ee21-97f6-49aa-8eaf-26382006ee50/rt-walters-ps1_23_167_fnt_dd_t14.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Gender
idea
There is nothing new about gender fluidity and nonconformity
From Mesopotamia and ancient Greece to precolonial India and medieval London, gender has always been more than a binary
by Chris Wheatley
![Painting depicts a casino scene with people gathered around a green roulette table. The players are engaged, focused on the game. The roulette wheel is visible on the right side, and a green lamp hangs above. The scene is vibrant, with expressive brushstrokes and vivid colours.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/3b790519-f386-406b-a90e-adc7d9018dab/rt-edvard_munch_-_at_the_roulette_table_in_monte_carlo_-_google_art_project.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Knowledge and reason
idea
What we gain by recognising the role of chance in life
Appreciating the world is random can foster perseverance, gratitude for our own luck and empathy for the plight of others
by Mark R Rank
![Black-and-white photo of two people in a small rowboat on a calm, open water body under a cloudy sky. The boat and its occupants are reflected clearly in the still water.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/cd3e58b1-bdde-486e-b9c4-7331d9d1c486/par320074.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
The nature of reality
guide
How to think about time
This philosopher’s introduction to the nature of time could radically alter how you see your past and imagine your future
by Graeme A Forbes
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/5aefd2d3-5892-4c4f-a96b-83a9aeb38103/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
History of ideas
film
An audiovisual odyssey into the heavens of astronomy and myth
A film by Bill Morrison
![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 young girl, seen from the back, in a museum in China stands before a huge, oval multicoloured image of ‘fossil’ microwave radiation](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/663fc809-b6cd-4612-a08f-1d95f54cf459/rt-final-gettyimages-1234052446.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Virtues and vices
idea
The medieval notion that shows why even experts should be humble
Nicholas of Cusa and others saw the importance of ‘learned ignorance’ or recognising there is always something more to learn
by Christopher M Bellitto
![Coloured sketch of a man with a moustache seated and resting his head on his hand, with a window in the background.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/6041fd2f-991e-4f4f-8895-28886f3a5071/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
History of ideas
guide
How to read philosophy
The first thing to remember is that the great philosophers were only human. Then you can start disagreeing with them
by Charlie Huenemann
![A close up of a vibrant yellow-gold tulip flower](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/7adadb11-434c-4cf6-8f53-bcf658a0bbe9/rt-nyc11642.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
History of ideas
idea
I smell, therefore I am. On the philosophy of the olfactory
To truly grip us, philosophy must engage with the practical and animalistic. It’s time to stop turning its nose up at smell
by Simon Hajdini
![A vintage photo showing people dressed in old-fashioned clothing, carrying baskets and bags, walking through a busy outdoor market area.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/ea541e8a-9dd3-422b-85a0-3ea471455421/rt-csm_fotografie-museum-berlin-heinrich-zille-ohne-titel-markt-auf-dem-friedrich-karl-platz-sommer-1898_9f8b7d9eeb.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Thinkers and theories
idea
How the feminist philosopher Helene Stöcker canonised Nietzsche
Despite Nietzsche’s reputation for misogyny, his work inspired a leading women’s rights activist of the early 20th century
by Lydia Moland
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/3d68ecdd-25e3-49cb-878f-060058b7877b/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Thinkers and theories
guide
How to deconstruct the world
Don’t believe everything you hear, read and watch. To puncture received ideas about culture, start thinking like Jacques Derrida
by Peter Salmon