Nietzsche both wished he was as stupid as a cow so he wouldn’t have to contemplate existence, and pitied cows for being so stupid that they couldn’t contemplate existence.

People tend to underestimate how much a friend they’ve lost contact with would enjoy a simple note saying "hi."

The "End of Days" defines how we see time.

There are two conceptions of free will: "straight" and "mixed."

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Swiss Enlightenment philosopher who praised a simple life and inspired the worst of the French Revolution.

That Nietzsche quote might not mean what you think it does.

Ideas often taken for granted in the United States and Europe about what it means to be a person are, quite simply, not shared with other cultures.

It’s not a huge leap to imagine we could target the biological processes that mediate our behaviours.

In the philosophy of Star Wars, the Sith are evil because they surrender to passion. But is a life of total rationality a “good” life?

In the wake of the pandemic, the crystal industry boomed, with customers hoping the stones might relieve a little anxiety.

We often laugh at inappropriate things, but not when we are emotionally invested. Laughter cannot be serious. So, can we ever laugh at death?

Since at least 600 BC, people have been mesmerized by the concept of the infinite.

A philosopher unpacks the paradox in using the word "evil."

You can love a romantic partner, but also a pet, a book, God, or the sound of someone’s voice. We need many more words for love.

If argumentation led to nothing, it would soon be thrown into the evolutionary dustbin.

Media provocateurs and conspiracy theorists insist that they're "just asking questions." No, they aren’t.

We tend to assume our view of the world is objective and accurate rather than subjective and biased — which is what it really is.

Jokes so cheesy even French philosophers will love them.

"The Soul of a New Machine" provides a rare level of insight into the minds and decisions of humanity's greatest thinkers.

Game theory is a unique combination of math and psychology. Its applications turn up everywhere, from nuclear war to Tinder to game shows.

In the age of distraction, don't we all want to read faster and more efficiently?

Prison is an unreliable method of punishment. Let's do better.

Sometimes breaking a rule is the ethical thing to do.

Regardless of political ideology, one of the few things that many people seem to have in common is a moral hypocrisy that arises from a fundamental lack of self-reflection.

Pseudoscience is science’s shadow.

Did traditional Chinese thought pave the way for the philosophy of Maoism?

When faced with too many choices, many of us freeze — a phenomenon known as "analysis paralysis." Why? Isn't choice a good thing?

"A cheap loan is beyond all new destiny." Does that mean anything to you?

From machines to animals, there are many kinds of possible minds.

Safety through technology is no bad thing—Nietzsche himself sought doctors and medicines throughout his life—but it can become pathological.