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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Focus and attention
idea
Sometimes, paying attention means we see the world less clearly
Does attention distort knowledge, or am I overthinking it? What visual illusions say about the secret workings of the mind
by Henry Taylor