Many philosophers think asking about the meaning of life is confused or misguided. Or they try to explain what individuals can do to make their lives meaningful. But that does not offer the same existential solace as explaining what makes life itself valuable.
It might seem baffling that the state gets involved in our love life. Why does the government need to keep track of who’s married to whom? Will they next start tracking who our friends are?
It’s Karl Marx’ 200th Birthday! It is hard to deny that Marx left a lasting, far-reaching impact on the course of history. But how exactly can we distill the core insights of Marx’s teachings?
Most of us hold the deep moral commitment that we are all equal in some basic way. All humans are worthy of equal (moral) concern, respect, and dignity. But is a commitment to basic equality enough to ground meaningful principles of justice?
How did self-help go so wrong? Philosophy Talk featured contributor David Livingstone Smith explains the atrocious politics of popular self-help guru Jordan Peterson and the links between the toxic ideas embedded in Peterson’s shtick.
Is race a social construct? Is there any scientific basis for race? If racial categories were drawn arbitrarily by white colonizers and imperialists, can we conclude that that racial categories are themselves racist?
Can an algorithm be racist? An algorithm used to determine bail sentencing assesses the risk that an individual will reoffend. Critics claim the algorithm is unfair because it incorrectly assesses more black individuals as high risk than white.
James Baldwin is one of the most extraordinary thinkers of the 20th century. His writings are a must-read for anyone interested in issues of race in America. In this video, Baldwin tackles the question, “Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?”
It is popular in certain circles to think of gender as a fluid spectrum: People can fall on many points between “very feminine” and “very masculine,” and where they fall can change over time. But perhaps the gender spectrum is more viscose than fluid.
Why do many of us assume that Buddhism and science are polar opposites—that Buddhist teachings are so paradoxical and mysterious they are not even meant to be understood? Is it possible instead that the teachings of Buddhism actually predate certain scientific conclusions the West is just now discovering?
What is the value of philosophy of science? What do philosophers even know about science? Shouldn’t we just trust scientists when it comes to questions of science? Philosopher Subrena Smith says there are presuppositions in science worth analyzing from a philosophical perspective.
Philosopher Simon Critchley offers his take on continental philosophy and some of its biggest hits. He discusses how the continental approach to philosophy is more practically relevant to lived experience and, interestingly, more aware of its history.
Do we have too much democratic politics in this country? What are the consequences of living in a society in which your every action has a political connotation? Philosopher Robert Talisse argues that there is such a thing as too much democracy.
Watch this classic, must-see debate between two of the most prominent intellectuals of the 20th century: Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault. The hour-long debate traverses a broad intellectual course—from human nature and objective truth to Marxism and the value of justice.
It’s clear that many of the prevailing intellectual traditions throughout the world are disproportionately influenced by Western (European, Christian, white) ideas. So how can we take up the project of decolonizing philosophy?
It is a little known fact that the German philosopher was a hard-core right-wing, anti-democrat, anti-liberal, racist, nationalist anti-Semite. While he died before the rise of Hitler, one can only speculate how he would’ve responded.