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Ideas

History of ideas

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Bust of a man in marble against a plain background, showcasing detailed facial features and draped garment; sculpture.

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

A painting depicting a cosmological diagram with an abstract human figure and various mythical creatures.

History of ideas

idea

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

Photo of a tattooed barber trimming a man’s hair in a striped cape, with a reflection in the mirror.

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

Painting of a crowd in evening dress strolling down a street at dusk with buildings and a large tree 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

Photo of an elderly man with grey hair in front of a bookshelf filled with colourful books.

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 an office with a laptop and monitors, showing an image of a person with hands on their head.

Thinkers and theories

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Pseudophilosophy encourages confused, self-indulgent thinking

Pseudophilosophy can result from simple misunderstanding or wilful obscurity. The cure is basic critical thinking skills

by Victor Moberger

Painting of a chaotic ancient city in flames, with a large statue and crowds fleeing across a bridge over a turbulent sea.

History of ideas

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How the ancient philosophers imagined the end of the world

How the ancient Greeks and Romans imagined the end of the world, and what we can learn from them today about catastrophe

by Christopher Star

A photo of a child in a red dress running on a wooden bridge with adults walking in the background under a clear sky.

Ageing

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Simone de Beauvoir recommends we fight for ourselves as we age

Old age, for Simone de Beauvoir, is not shameful or frightening but should be celebrated as an opportunity to be authentic

by Skye C Cleary

Mosaic depicting a bird in a cage with geometric patterns and swirls in black and white surrounding it.

Meaning and the good life

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What’s a life worth living? For the ancients, it depends

What the ancient philosophers thought was a life worth living will likely surprise you. But don’t be too quick to judge

by David Machek

Historic photo of a group gathered near ruins of a building after destruction. A leafless tree stands in foreground.

Human nature

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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

Photo of two people on a beach cooling off under a shower, with tall buildings and umbrellas in the background.

Gender

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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