Philosophy

Philosophy

Examine life’s biggest questions, from ethics to existence, with curiosity and critical thinking.

A light bulb hanging on a wall with a swirl pattern.
Even if a leading theory of consciousness is wrong, it can still be useful to science.
Einstein with his class of students in 1896
Hermann Minkowski called Einstein a "lazybones" with a "not very solid" education. Less than 10 years later, he would eat his words.
A painting exploring philosophical problems through a depiction of naked people in a pool.
Is immortality a tantalizing possibility or a philosophical paradox?
A group of artistic men in suits playing saxophones with genius skill.
The answer may lie in the power to see far, far beyond yourself.
A Japanese painting of a man in water.
The toilet “is a portal to a mysterious otherworld.”
If the "self" is not real, then we are slaves to a billiard ball universe, trapped in a nihilistic nightmare in which we cannot change our fate.
John Templeton Foundation
black hole baby universe
From the Big Bang to black holes, singularities are hard to avoid. The math definitely predicts them, but are they truly, physically real?
A black and white photo of Albert Einstein demonstrating gravity force.
Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are locked in an eternal battle over the nature of gravity. Whose side are you on?
A bricolage of a watercolor painting of a watermelon.
If you give yourself and others space to tinker and experiment, then you might create something incredible. Here's how to do it well.
A burning car on the side of the road.
You are much more likely to die in a car crash than from terrorism. Yet, philosopher Eran Fish says fearing terrorism more is justified.
Monks in red robes walking in the snow during biostasis.
Inside the “out there” quest for a drug that would help doctors save lives before it’s too late.
A group of men studying Japanese philosophy.
Traditionally, the long history of Japanese thought has not been viewed as “philosophy” — even by Japanese scholars. It’s time for a rethink.
If you find yourself on one of these roads, it might be a while before you see another fellow traveler.
A bust of a man from one of the schools of philosophy that died out.
Dive into five philosophical schools that have faded into obscurity but still whisper through the ages.
An image of a man's head with gears representing the fusion of free will and AI.
Artificial general intelligence will not arise in systems that only passively receive data. They need to be able to act back on the world.
Nasa's finely-tuned image of a cluster of galaxies.
The question of why the Universe is the way it is is an ancient one, and none of the answers we have come up with are satisfying.
A painting exploring the philosophy of sex through a woman holding a shell.
The philosophy of sex is going through a recalibration period.
Jon Fosse is posing for a photo.
The world’s “most produced living playwright” wins out over other contestants, including Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood.
hydrothermal field
With such a vast Universe and raw ingredients that seem to be everywhere, could it really be possible that humanity is truly alone?
A QBism-inspired painting of a woman in blue and black.
The perfectly accessible, perfectly knowable Universe of classical physics is gone forever, no matter what interpretation you choose.