Philosophy
A fatal mistake: Time Being, by Jude Cook, reviewed
Believing she has incurable cancer, Esther Luck arranges her suicide by proxy. But her obliging accomplice misfires disastrously
Why we should never be afraid to ask questions
Questions have always played a vital role when it comes to learning and connection. But we now live in a world that increasingly just wants answers, warns Lani Watson
The trouble with communism began with Plato
The elite guardians of his envisioned Kallipolis, where private property was banned, were protected by auxiliaries who sound not dissimilar to the KGB or the Stasi
Why we must forgive Immanuel Kant his misogyny and racism
All humans are worthy of respect, he taught – except if they are black, Jewish or female. But his views were grounded in what he regarded as ‘facts’, argues Robert Wicks
Were the French structuralists of the 1960s really as cool as they seemed?
With Althusser murdering his wife and Foucault dallying with prepubescent boys, some of the group seem simply to have abdicated personal responsibility
Are good people made by good surroundings, or the other way round?
Joad Raymond Wren examines utopian schemes through the centuries, from Plato’s Republic to Womyn’s land, and concludes that we should never stop challenging the status quo
The humiliating truth about the way we think
We overrate our capacity for rational deliberation, says Turi Munthe, when weather, soil, climate and geography are what really determine of our opinions and beliefs
Who wants to bring back the Neanderthals?
The wholesale ‘de-extinction’ of vanished human species is one of many ethically dicey possibilities in the not-too-distant future, says Adrian Woolfson
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 –…
