Forbidden Words
March 15, 2015
Some words, like n****r, ch*nk, and c*nt, are so forbidden that we won’t even spell…
What Is Game Theory?
August 16, 2026
Game theory is a set of mathematical techniques for thinking about how people should choose when their choices interact. But real people aren’t exactly rational actors. Can a mathematical model explain real-world decisions? How can game theorists account for the fact that we don’t always…
Regulating Bodies
February 8, 2015
Most countries allow their citizens to smoke cigarettes, get intoxicated, and eat unhealthy food –…
Why Be Moral?
January 18, 2015
Morality tells us how we ought to behave, if we want to do the right…
The Examined Year – 2014
January 4, 2015
The unexamined year is not worth reviewing. But what ideas and events that took shape…
Prostitution and the Sex Trade
December 28, 2014
Some consider the commodification of sexual services inherently wrong, something that ought to be abolished…
Gut Feelings and the Art of Decision-Making
December 14, 2014
We may think of ourselves as rational decision-makers, but we often base even high-stakes decisions…
Hypocrisy
November 30, 2014
Hypocrites believe one thing, but do another. Jefferson opposed slavery, but owned slaves. Jesus professed…
The Moral Costs of Climate Change
November 23, 2014
Global climate change confronts us not only with well-known pragmatic challenges, but also with less…
Identities Lost & Found in a Global Age
November 9, 2014
Throughout human history, people have tended to live and die in the place they’re born.…
Freedom, Blame, and Resentment
October 19, 2014
When someone acts without regard for our feelings or needs, a natural response is to…
Neuroscience and the Law
September 7, 2014
Recent advances in neuroscience have revealed that certain neurological disorders, like a brain tumor, can…
What Might Have Been
August 24, 2014
When we make claims about things that could have been—what philosophers call counterfactual statements—we are,…
What Are Leaders Made of?
July 13, 2014
There seems to be a paradox in leadership: the qualities of ruthlessness and opportunism necessary…
Pantheism
June 22, 2014
Pantheism is the doctrine that the world is either identical with God or an expression…
Summer Reading List 2014
June 8, 2014
What philosophers, philosophies, or philosophical issues would you like to read up on over the…
Am I Alone?
June 1, 2014
A popular theme in science fiction is the eerily lifelike robot: a piece of machinery…
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