Thinking

“In that conversation with Laozi’s text, I began to see the shape of my own life, the questions that opened seams, the patterns that pooled and shimmered.”

Why do we tip waitstaff and cabdrivers but not flight attendants and retail clerks?

In today’s political climate, how can we come together and seek some common ground or understanding? What are the mechanics of doing that? Is there some script or set of […]

Does Platonic love actually exist?

Oliver Burkeman — author of “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals” — tells Big Think about modern life lessons from a 6th-century monk.

Desire is like a drug. But is an addict always an addict?

Why human attempts to mechanize logic keep breaking down.

Philosophy cures no disease and invents nothing new. What’s even the point?

If philosophers really enjoy one thing, it’s a good debate — but not an argument.

Religion is a product of, and not a source of, our evolutionary moral dispositions.

Is it ever possible for God to violate the laws of nature?

Hospice nurse Julie McFadden shares three examples where people hold off death, just for a bit.

How do you cope when joining a team shatters your confidence? Albert Camus and Harry Stack Sullivan can help.

“I know what you’re thinking” can sound kind or creepy — depending on who’s saying it.

Everyone has to learn about sex somehow. Today, billions of people are learning about it from porn.

There’s a fine line between ambition and ruthlessness.

When stuffed and staring down the last bite, you might hear your mother’s voice in your mind.

In the fight between head and heart, psychologists will win.

Is a repressed memory always so bad?

Is there a force keeping humanity in check?

A researcher weighs in on who’s accountable, when and why, in the eyes of the law — and whether the measures work as intended.

Are fava beans and chianti really the best pairing for human liver?

The philosopher Skye C. Cleary explores what being authentically happy looks like in a world where so many can’t be.

Just being a pessimist, cynic, or apathetic doesn’t make you a nihilist.

The acceptance of death is deeply embedded in our culture; it’s time to overthrow that idea.

God is not a vending machine, but is it wrong to treat him like one?

A reader asks whether we have an ethical responsibility to always debate bad beliefs, especially those that come from our elders.

If music is a window onto truth, what does screaming reveal?

How heavy is the mask that you wear?

The “Shopping Cart Litmus Test” is a popular meme about morality. What does it really reveal about one’s character?