Is hope more realistic than despair? Aquinas thinks so.

The death of God didn’t strike Nietzsche as an entirely good thing. Without a God, the basic belief system of Western Europe was in jeopardy.

“I need to think about the future. Will you help me?”

Non-Western thought is vast and ancient, so why don't some consider it philosophy?

Death is the great and terrifying unknown, awaiting us all at the end of this life. Giving it a personality makes it easier to gaze upon.

Pokémon has people wandering the world to enslave wild and magical creatures so they can fight in painful blood sports. What's fun about that?

Setting resolutions for the new year means you think the future is up to you — but is it?

The gospels imply that Jesus became famous as much for his exorcisms as his ministry.

The German-American cartoonist introduced the idea that Santa Claus traveled with a sleigh and reindeer.

In her 2020 book, "The Alchemy of Us," Ainissa Ramirez explores how important material inventions shaped the course of human experience.

Or you might just be a Leo.

Do your kids a favor and give them the gift of philosophy this Christmas.

Spoiler alert: Everyone dies.

Far from acting as the conduits of a benevolent deity, these religious leaders threw the teachings of their own church out of the window.

Washington believed that particular Thanksgiving in 1789 was a crucial occasion.

The early colonists thought they were being pulled by God into a void left by plague.

This map of Hutterite colonies in North America says something about religion and evolution — and more precisely, speciation.

By taking Satan out of the religious context, storytellers explored the nature of sin in new ways.

Our social instincts can lead us to adopt models of desire that might not serve our interests.

Discover the history of homemade sugar skulls, home altars, and fantastical spirit animals.

Growing up in the United States, I remember on Halloween my mother used to say, “Honey, this is not just a day for costumes and candy. You must also remember […]

There's more to miracles than turning water into wine.

Frank Herbert's "Dune" refers to a religious desert people who are desperate for a savior to overthrow an evil empire. Sound familiar?

How we handle grief largely depends on our worldview. Here is how three famous philosophers handled the certainty of grief and despair.

In hell, we assume a position of moral superiority, looking down over the sinners and the poor decisions that led them to this wretched place. In heaven, Dante is looking down upon us.

The book Buddha Takes the Mound delivers an engaging and sophisticated account of Buddhism’s worldview through the prism of baseball.

It's better to pursue moral actions instead of the ephemeral state of happiness, according to the philosopher Immanuel Kant.

Studio Ghibli movies celebrate the natural world using a very Japanese mixture of Shinto, Buddhist, and Daoist themes.

Jains believe that karma weighs the soul down. This can be overcome through extreme asceticism, in which one slowly withdraws from life.

A 5,300-year-old mummy teaches us the global history of tattoos.