History of ideas

Self-knowledge and personal growth Relationships, work and leisure Values and ethical living

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Close-up of a stone sculpture of a man’s face with detailed features, set against a plain background. The expression appears solemn.

Civic life

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Don’t be stoic: Roman Stoicism’s origins show its perniciousness

Stoicism might help you as an individual. But we need a philosophy that doesn’t dull us to the injustices of the world

by Henry Gruber

Photo of emotional protesters raising hands and holding Catalan flags in a crowd during a demonstration.

History of emotions

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Neuroscience has much to learn from Hume’s philosophy of emotions

According to philosopher David Hume, it takes a lifetime to get our emotions right. Neuroscience has much to learn from him

by Richard C Sha

Coloured sketch of a man with a moustache seated and resting his head on his hand, with a window in the background.

History of ideas

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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

Black-and-white photo of two people; one holding binoculars to their eyes, the other wearing a hat and looking down.

History of ideas

film

An audiovisual odyssey into the heavens of astronomy and myth

A film by Bill Morrison

A barber with a colourful tattoo using a clipper and comb to cut a customer’s hair in a barbershop.

The self

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When your authenticity is an act, something’s gone wrong

Authenticity has changed from an inward gaze to a social display. Can we reconcile the performance with the real thing?

by Joseph E Davis

Illustrated manuscript page with a circular cosmological diagram, human figure with intricate details, and several narrative scenes.

History of ideas

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Ancient Indian texts reveal the liberating power of metaphysics

Indian metaphysics presented a philosophical route to a higher level of existence beyond limits of space and time

by Jessica Frazier

Black-and-white photo of an elderly man with white hair, seen through a window with plants, looking directly at the camera.

Thinkers and theories

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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

A painting of people in top hats and formal attire walking in a dimly lit street at night with buildings in the background.

Anxiety

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Anxiety isn’t a pathology. It drives us to push back the unknown

‘I’m anxious, therefore I enquire.’ Anxiety isn’t a problem to be solved; it drives philosophical enquiry and makes us human

by Samir Chopra

An elderly man with grey hair who is Karl Jaspers in front of a blurred bookshelf, in a dark suit, white shirt and a tie.

Thinkers and theories

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To Karl Jaspers, uncertainty is not to be overcome but understood

The existentialist Karl Jaspers believed uncertainty ungirds human existence: better to recognise this than rage against it

by Carmen Lea Dege

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.

The nature of reality

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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