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History of ideas

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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

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

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 showing a desk with a laptop displaying a portrait of Michel Foucault between two monitors.

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

A classical city under attack with burning buildings, a damaged statue, fleeing people, and chaos on a bridge over the water.

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 young girl in a red dress runs across a wooden bridge under bright sunlight, casting a shadow on the planks.

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

Ancient mosaic depicting an animal in a cage, surrounded by intricate geometric and floral patterns in various shades of brown, beige, and black.

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

Black-and-white photograph of people among the rubble of collapsed buildings, including a partially standing tower, with bare trees in view.

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

A young woman in a red bikini and an older man in black trunks cool off at an outdoor shower, with a sunny beach 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