X CLOSE

Knowledge and reason

Thinking and intelligence

idea

Why some of the smartest people can be so very stupid

Struggling to understand is perfectly honourable. Being wilfully stupid is something else and we should strive to fix it

by Sacha Golob

Black and white photo of a man and woman in swimwear relaxing on a sandy beach with rocky cliffs in the background.

Love

idea

Love shouldn’t be blind or mad. Instead, fall rationally in love

Blind, all-consuming love goes against your interests and impedes your flourishing. Submit your love to rational scrutiny

by Berit Brogaard

Black and white photo of a thoughtful child in a classroom sitting with hand on chin, other children nearby.

Learning and education

idea

Why good teachers allow a child’s mind to wander and wonder

The experience of wonder is essential to the task of education – it opens up the world. That’s why teachers should foster it

by Anders Schinkel

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

Anxiety

idea

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

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

idea

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

Photo of two men posing for a picture indoors, one in a red coat, the other in a colourful suit with a graphic design.

Fairness and equality

idea

Adam Smith warned us about sympathising with the elites

Sympathy is both key to human psychology and source of much of our misery. For Adam Smith, the philosophical life is the cure

by Blake Smith

Photo of a neon-lit street scene with parked cars at night, featuring a mural with clouds on a building entrance.

Mind and brain

idea

Time doesn’t flow like a river. So why do we feel swept along?

Physics tells us that time doesn’t flow like a river, as Heraclitus claimed. Why then do we feel like we’re swept along?

by Nick Young

Protesters holding signs against cashless society, media and climate emergency. Signs include “ONLY BY STANDING TOGETHER WILL WE BE FREE” and “TIME TO WAKE UP”.

Knowledge and reason

idea

Our big problem is not misinformation; it’s knowingness

Everybody knows we live in an age of misinformation. But everybody’s wrong, and here’s why it’s our age’s biggest problem

by Jonathan Malesic

Photo of people sitting on a street using smartphones at night, illuminated by screen light.

Knowledge and reason

idea

The antidote to fake news is to nourish our epistemic wellbeing

There’s more to wellbeing than physical and mental health: we also need epistemic wellbeing, or good access to knowledge

by Kenneth Boyd

Photo of a kitchen with word magnets on a fridge and two people in the background at a table.

Autism

idea

Autistic people challenge preconceived ideas about rationality

While cognitive biases commonly sway decision-making, Autistic people might be less susceptible to such biases

by Liron Rozenkrantz & Anila D’Mello

Black and white photo of a spiral pattern resembling a spiral staircase or vortex with concentric circular rings.

The nature of reality

idea

Uncertainty isn’t a human flaw, it’s a feature of the world

They bring contrasting perspectives, but a literary scholar and a physicist agree on the wisdom of embracing uncertainty

by Richard C Sha & Nathan Harshman

Old photo of a girl standing in a dirt lane between wooden houses with people walking in the background.

Childhood and adolescence

idea

Young children use reason, not gut feelings, to decide moral issues

It’s not just ‘gut feelings’: humans form moral judgments that align with moral principles and beliefs from a young age

by Audun Dahl