Philosophy
The mystery of what makes us special remains unsolved
After spending six years investigating where consciousness comes from, Michael Pollan finds no overarching explanation
Don’t let AI read philosophy for you
The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) once wrote that “the man who feels himself drawn to philosophy must himself seek out…
Is it better to be reasonable or rational?
As well as being flexible and open-minded, reasonable people are concerned about what’s of true value – whereas the rational may simply be interested in their own tangible gains
Adventures in the City of Light: Rousseau’s Lost Children, by Gavin McCrea, reviewed
An academic specialising in Jean-Jacques Rousseau slips back in time to 1777 to accompany his hero on long philosophical rambles around Paris
Christian nihilism is taking over American life
There’s something very religious about nihilism. For proof, look to the new capital of American nihilism, Minneapolis. A callousness toward…
Where will the extremes of OOO philosophy lead?
We are moving so far from anthropocentrism that even now we are postulating thinking bricks and a kind of global foam that extends beyond human exceptionalism
The serious business of games: Seven, by Joanna Kavenna, reviewed
A young philosopher goes in search of the curator of the Society of Lost Things and the once world-famous game of Seven whose rules no one seems to know
No passive utopia: Tibetan Sky, by Ning Ken, reviewed
Tibet is portrayed as an uneasy cultural crossroads where globalisation, spirituality and the political traumas of two peoples collide in this sardonic, erudite novel
A philosophical quest: A Fictional Inquiry, by Daniele del Giudice, reviewed
The pacing and tone are noirish in this metaphysical detective story, set in Trieste, about the space between writing and life
The concept of ‘the West’ seems to mean anything you like
First formulated by Auguste Comte in the 19th century, its later proponents would even embrace Japan while questioning the inclusion of belligerent Germany
Orcas, dolphins and the ancient question of animal sentience
Killer whales have been seen offering titbits to divers – but as a gift or a lure? Plutarch (c. AD…
The cunning meanings of quant
The FT headline said: ‘Man Group orders quants back to office five days a week.’ I didn’t know what quants…
How can ‘sanction’ mean two opposing things?
Sir Keir Starmer said ‘he could “not imagine” the circumstances in which he would sanction a new referendum’ on Scottish…
Spinoza, Epicurus and the question of ‘epikoros’
With surprise, I heard from a Jewish friend that a Hebrew term for a heretic is epikoros, apparently derived from…
Time travellers’ tales: The Book of Records, by Madeleine Thien, reviewed
Sheltering from a flood in a labyrinthine ‘nothing place’, Lina opens a secret door to neighbouring rooms – where she finds three revered historical figures whose life stories she shares
The problem with Pascal’s wager
Graham Tomlin focuses on the Catholic philosopher’s search for intellectual certainty, but the cosmic gamble’s serious flaws don’t get the attention they deserve
‘It is sad that we are sometimes seen as just killers’: an interview with Japan’s last ninja
Getting an interview with Jinichi Kawakami, the man known in Japan as ‘the Last Ninja’, was no easy task –…
Liberty is a loaded word
Just about everyone is for it, but we mean different things by it – whether it be the freedom of independence or the absence of coercive constraint
In search of Pico della Mirandola, the quintessential Renaissance Man
Though the scholar himself remains an enigma, his theories about language as a portal to the divine are explored in depth by Edward Wilson-Lee
‘The worst echo chamber is your own mind’: the unconventional life of philosopher Agnes Callard
Agnes Callard is a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and she lives with her current husband and…
Finding your other half in ancient Athens
According to Aristophanes, human beings were two-bodied before Zeus split them – which is why we spend our lives perpetually searching for our missing partner
The beauty and tedium of the works of Adalbert Stifter
The 19th-century Austrian was an astonishingly pure stylist, as W.G. Sebald acknowledges – but it takes real dedication to craft to write such boring novels
The joy of discussing life’s great questions with a philosopher friend
A higher form of love than romance or conjugal felicity was what Socrates offered in his dialogues, says Agnes Callard
Bad air days: Savage Theories, by Pola Oloixarac, reviewed
University students immersed in drug-and-group-sex and online gaming reveal the dark side of Buenos Aires
Seeking forgiveness for gluttony, sloth and other deadly sins
The neurologist Guy Leschziner explores the medical conditions that might underlie extremes of human behaviour in a fascinating study that combines biology and psychology
