Reason was supposedly the great liberator – an Enlightenment gift that freed us from blind adherence to tradition and the authority of church and state. But today, many now contend this is a comfortin...

<p><em>We assume theories need experimental proof to be credible. But philosopher of science <strong>Richard Dawid</strong> argues that string theory has earned trust through a different route: meta-e...

We tend to think of Stoicism as a philosophy of passive resignation - but Massimo Pigliucci argues that true agency requires recognising both the limits of our power and knowledge. For Pigliucci, the ...

<p><em>Liberal democracies around the world are under threat. Oxford Politics Professor <strong>Giovanni Capoccia</strong> argues that there’s a paradox that prevents efforts to defend them. Illiberal...

<p><em>A century after the birth of quantum mechanics, many are still puzzled by the idea that Schrödinger’s cat is simultaneously alive and dead. The mystery drives some of our most prominent physici...

<p><em>We tend to think of reality as made up of things, governed by fixed laws that determine how they change over time. But biochemist <strong>Timothy Jackson</strong> argues that this is back to fr...

The rise of populism has, in turn, been lauded as the defeat of neoliberalism. But while the old world may be dead, what does the new world that is struggling to be born look like? Join philosopher We...

“Liberalism is no religion, no world view, no party of special interests,” claimed von Mises. Liberalism wasn't supposed to define 'the good,’ but rather ensure the individual freedom to define it our...

<p><em>Forgetting is usually seen as a flaw in the human brain. But neuroscientist <strong>Oliver Hardt</strong> argues that forgetting is in fact crucial for some of the most important parts of our b...

'At the height of the Victorian era, the poet Matthew Arnold captured the mood of the time, using the metaphor of the waves on Dover Beach to refer to the long slow retreat of the sea of faith. Since ...

From the Big Bang to the fabric of spacetime and the nature of consciousness, our core scientific assumptions frame how we understand and perceive reality. But there are many challenges to our current...

Why does every generation assume the future will be more civilized than the past? John Gray argues this belief in progress is both false and dangerous—a secular myth that blinds us to the recurring co...

<p><em>Following Artemis II, space as humanity's shared frontier is once again in the spotlight. And most nations purport to agree, space should be reserved for peace. In the build-up to <a href="http...

<p><em>Einstein’s picture of spacetime, a four-dimensional fabric uniting space and time, breaks down at the smallest scales, where quantum mechanics takes over. For decades, physicists have searched ...

<p><em>We think of Shakespeare as the ultimate master of words, but his plays frequently stage the moments where language fails. <strong>Simon Palfrey</strong> argues that Shakespeare purposefully pus...

<p><em>Einstein’s theory of relativity appears to drain time of its most familiar feature: its flow. If spacetime is a four-dimensional block, as many physicists argue, then there is no privileged pre...

<p><em>As science, philosophy, and politics collide, the idea that we can truly know the world is under mounting pressure. From radical pragmatism to object-oriented ontology, leading thinkers now que...

<p style="text-align: left;"><em>The world of quantum physics is a very different world from the day-to-day reality we experience. In the quantum world, interactions across vast distances can occur, n...

<p><em>Chaos, uncertainty, and noise are often thought of as getting in the way of an organism's plans. Animals, for example, need predictable food and water sources, without them life is a constant s...

The leaders of liberal democracies have assumed that democracy is not only the best political system but that it delivers the strongest economies. Biden's Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, recently cl...

<p><em>We think of tragedy as exploring suffering, but it actually teaches us to enjoy it. From Plato to Freud, philosopher <strong>Paul Kottman</strong> argues that our appetite for tragic drama cult...

<p><em>For most of human history, the origin of life was a religious question. Darwin made it a scientific one. But now scientists have created an artificial species designed entirely by artificial in...

<p><em>For most of its history, Western philosophy tried to use pure reason to know reality. But, argues Robert Pippin, Heidegger showed that this entire philosophical tradition was doomed, due to its...

<p><em>What is the difference between human and machine? Classically, embodiment has been a go-to answer. But as information itself becomes increasingly embodied, the tension between metal and flesh i...

<p><em>We have evolved to want revenge. The desire to see those that have hurt us be hurt in kind feels not just natural but morally just. But philosopher <strong>Gregg D. Caruso</strong> argues that ...