Philosophy

Philosophy

When justice isn’t tempered by something such as mercy, forgiveness, or nonviolence, efforts to make society more equitable often backfire.
John Templeton Foundation
A figure with wings kneels and gestures toward a standing, robed figure against a red background, evoking the question: what is hell like? Both appear in a detailed, engraved style.
4mins
What’s hell really like?
John Templeton Foundation
dark matter
There's an extra source of massive "stuff" in our Universe beyond what gravitation and normal matter can explain. Could light be the answer?
Commodus lived the anti-Stoic life, pursuing lust, narcissism, and self-indulgence.
Reframing life in terms of death reveals some of the biggest philosophical problems with how we think about living systems.
EV charging stations are the most widespread alternative to gas and diesel pumps. Each alternative has its own hotspots and "deserts."
Blissful ignorance can be a rational choice.
One study estimated that 80% of people include “deviations” from the truth in their online profiles.
A bearded man with outstretched arms and blue drapery appears to be in motion, depicted in a classical painting style that evokes the search for evidence for God.
4mins
There is no evidence for God as a “big being.” Is God something else?
John Templeton Foundation
Nietzsche both wished he was as stupid as a cow so he wouldn’t have to contemplate existence, and pitied cows for being so stupid that they couldn’t contemplate existence.
It is wrong to think that these three statements contradict each other. We need to see that they are all true to see that a better world is possible.
A metallic, blindfolded bust of a person is shown against a black background, symbolizing justice, impartiality, and the resolve to turn the other cheek in the face of adversity.
5mins
When should we seek justice, and when should we forgive? A bishop explains.
John Templeton Foundation
There's an extremely good chance that there is, or at least was, life on Mars. But is it native to Mars, or did it originate from Earth?
upload brain
Uploading your mind is not a pathway to immortality. Instead, it will create a possibly hostile digital doppelgänger.
pulse light quantum tunnel barrier
In all the Universe, only a few particles are eternally stable. The photon, the quantum of light, has an infinite lifetime. Or does it?
What we call "basic research" is actually the most cutting-edge. It underpins knowledge, and without it, technology does not come into being.
moral panic
Moral panics about the content of children's cartoons and other forms of entertainment have a long history.
Scientific journals, which are supposed to be the sacred scriptures of academia, are often full of shoddy research and misinformation.
For decades people have arranged to freeze their bodies after death, dreaming of resurrection by advanced future medicine. Many met a fate far grislier than death.
The answer is both disappointing and exciting.
5mins
The first human that isn’t an Earthling could be in our lifetime.
Maxar
A close-up of a painted human arm and hand reaching out with extended fingers against a light, cracked background.
5mins
Atheists are not immune from supernatural thinking.
Long before Christopher and Magellan, ancient explorers voyaged into the unknown and brought home extraordinary tales.
kaizen
If Rome was not built in a day, why do you think you can be?
A painting of an elderly man with long white hair and beard, wearing a red robe, surrounded by clouds with a halo above his head, set against a soft green sky—inviting reflection on beliefs and the types of atheism.
Just as there are many types of believers, there's not only one type of atheist.
John Templeton Foundation
Illustration of large, mechanical tripod machines with glowing eyes detecting life as they shoot a beam of light at a smoking building, causing sparks and destruction.
The emergence of life in the universe is as certain as the emergence of matter, gravity, and the stars. Life is the universe developing a memory, and our chemical detection system could find it.
John Templeton Foundation
Evolutionary psychology could explain those otherworldly feelings.
free will
There are two conceptions of free will: "straight" and "mixed."