Human nature

Gender
idea
What sex-difference science misses about the messy reality of sex
Men aren’t from Mars, women aren’t from Venus, and other persistent myths derived from debunked sex-difference science
by Jeffrey W Lockhart

Human nature
idea
Our innate ideas prevent us seeing what is innate in human nature
We have a great deal of trouble telling what is innate and what is learned in human nature, whether ideas or emotions
by Iris Berent

Love
film
Surreal vignettes form a meditation on love in this Oscar-winning short
Directed by Alberto Mielgo

Emotions
idea
Are you sure you know what emotions are?
It’s tricky to define what an emotion is: is surprise one, or something else? Here are a few simple rules to get started
by Andrew Ortony

Animals
idea
What our use of animal-based slurs and endearments says about us
The image of the adorable kitten and the insult of calling someone a ‘pussy’ have more in common than you might realise
by David Egan

Transcendent experience
film
We soar, we plunge, we labour: here is all peak human experience
Directed by Dylan Werkman

Social history
idea
The rise of the bystander as a complicit historical actor
‘The appalling silence of the good people’: how the bystander rose to prominence as a morally complicit actor in history
by Dennis Klein

Human nature
idea
The radical aristocrat who put kindness on a scientific footing
Peter Kropotkin took on social Darwinism, casting evolution in a cooperative light and laying the groundwork for mutual aid
by Lydia Syson

Sex and sexuality
film
The filmmakers who transform fantasies into videos with an audience of one
Directed by Chung Nguyen