Thinking

Which philosopher had the strongest arguments? David Hume, who raised some of the best challenges for science, ethics, and religion.

Baruch Spinoza suggests how to lead a virtuous and blessed life.

The question of anti-Semitism, Nazism, and a particularly nasty sibling haunted Nietzsche’s legacy.

Objective reality exists, but what can you know about it that isn’t subjective. According to some neuroscientists, not much.

Love him or hate, Karl Marx redefined geopolitics and shook up the world order.

Do right and wrong depend on culture, or does morality transcend place and time?

Augustine’s theology came to define Christianity, but there was a rival theology.

Coherentism accepts that circular reasoning is probably the best any of us can do.

A strange philosophical thought experiment forces us to ask if the world can be completely described in physical terms.

Medical science can save lives, but should it do so at the cost of quality of life?

Thales may have known the famous theorem perhaps as much as half a century before Pythagoras.

If you had perfect foreknowledge of the blessings and tragedies that will come in your life, would you make the same choices anyway?

What if you are the only person in the world who can think?

Utopia is like a John Lennon song but with golden toilets.

Some neurology experiments — such as growing miniature human brains and reanimating the brains of dead pigs — are getting weird. It’s time to discuss ethics.

Tips from neuroscience and psychology can make you an expert thinker.

If something is “true,” it needs to be shown to work in the real world.

Your life is far more arbitrary than you might think.

The ancient Greeks were obsessed with geometry, which may have formed the basis of their philosophical cosmology.

Most schools use a semester system, but a new study suggests that they should switch to quarters.

The wise, the old, and the experienced matter to a full and happy life.

Apart from divine authority, is there an ethical basis for right and wrong?

A virtuous diet isn’t strictly vegan.

As a form of civil disobedience, hacking can help make the world a better place.

It could lead to a massive uptake in those previously hesitant.

Life is governed by unspoken rules. How do you know you’re following them correctly?

Milgram’s experiment is rightly famous, but does it show what we think it does?

When does a healthy desire for wealth morph into greed? And how can we stop it?

Why saying, “I don’t know,” might be the best thing you can do.

Science has not yet reached a consensus on the nature of consciousness.