Nigel Warburton
04 March 2026
The photographs worth far more than a thousand words
Thinkers have suggested that we see through photographs, back to the reality that they depict. But really their power is symbolic
Read the full article25 February 2026
The Epstein scandal will create a wave of conspiracy theories
The problem is that the secret international network of powerful men that Epstein created around himself will only convince the paranoid fantasists they were on to something
Read the full article11 February 2026
Ai Wewei wants you to know that the west censors too
The dissident artist has been targeted by China – but On Censorship reveals a wider world of control
Read the full article04 February 2026
Karma is the world’s worst policeman
Sorry, but leaving the universe to right itself is just misguided wishful thinking
Read the full article28 January 2026
Can philosophy be funny?
It Wittgenstein had written a Tractatus Logico Humurous, would we have learned anything from it?
Read the full article21 January 2026
How do ordinary people become evil?
Dehumanisation, obedience and lack of empathy: what drives people to commit the worst acts imaginable
Read the full article14 January 2026
How to stop AI slop from killing the internet
Legislation or an unexpected saviour could help – but the tech giants will try to crush them
Read the full article13 January 2026
The philosophy behind the BBC’s Waiting for the Out
Andy West, the man who inspired the hit new drama, on nature, change and the ‘terrible, dehumanising’ life behind bars
Read the full article07 January 2026
Why I don't have a favourite philosopher
I'm an admirer of John Stuart Mill, David Hume and Diogenes the Cynic. The problem is, I cannot endorse any one of them without reservation
Read the full article31 December 2025
Why New Year’s resolutions are the hardest promises to keep
Promises to ourselves have a superficially similar structure to promises to other people – but with a kind of double lock
Read the full article17 December 2025
How the world forgot James Hutton
A Scottish geologist made a discovery that altered the way we see ourselves, and our planet. And yet his name is widely forgotten
Read the full article10 December 2025
Schopenhauer’s one redeeming feature
He was a master of misery who sometimes argued it was better never to have been born. But his love of the flute suggests the philosopher wasn’t all gloom
Read the full article03 December 2025
CS Lewis and the truth about grief
When we lose someone it distorts everything - even the world around us
Read the full article26 November 2025
Everyday philosophy: Welcome to our terrifying surveillance state
Cameras and digital tracking make our lives more convenient – but at what cost?
Read the full article19 November 2025
Virtual friends don't belong in the real world
If we reach the point where real friends seem retro, life will have lost all its meaning
Read the full article12 November 2025
The super-rich are just super-lucky
Luck has played a part in how the world’s billionaires gathered their wealth. The issue arises when they don’t quite see it this way
Read the full article01 November 2025
Is the universe conscious? Philip Pullman thinks so…
It’s fun to entertain the possibility of panpsychism – that all the physical things around you have some level of experience. But that doesn’t mean it’s how reality works
Read the full article22 October 2025
There should be a Nobel prize for philosophy
Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel won the closest philosophy has to the accolade and, even if you disagree with him, it's easy to see why
Read the full article15 October 2025
How to love our pets
The prevalence of dog attacks points to an underlying moral failing: too many owners are shirking their basic responsibilities
Read the full article08 October 2025
Philosophers can't tell you how to live
There is, so far, no philosophical consensus about how we should go about our lives. We have to keep thinking for ourselves
Read the full article01 October 2025
Dr Bot will see you now
Don't let Donald Trump’s med bed fiasco distract you from how AI is actually transforming medical care and the ethical issues it raises
Read the full article24 September 2025
Just tax the rich
We shouldn’t need philosophy to tell us that wealth redistribution could alleviate extensive poverty
Read the full article17 September 2025
The irony of erasing Banksy
The street artist’s work leaves an indelible trace in our memories and it will last long after authorities scrub away the paint
Read the full article10 September 2025
Do cannibals go to heaven?
Philosophers have long debated the concept of immortality but now Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are concerned too
Read the full article03 September 2025
Why Authoritarians can't silence journalists
In today's world, media doesn't need AI - it needs real journalists
Read the full article27 August 2025
Why xenophobes love flags
A cross of St George or a union jack flown today means the same as it did in 1977: ‘You’re not welcome here’
Read the full article13 August 2025
There are no prizes for trophy hunting
Like bullfighting, this practice shows little respect for animals’ capacity to suffer and turns their deaths into a spectacle
Read the full article06 August 2025
The Online Safety Bill is in danger of going too far
We’re on the road to surveillance hell but there’s still time to change direction
Read the full article30 July 2025
Does everything come down to Luck?
There is a difference between riding your luck and being lucky, just ask Leah Williamson and the Lionesses
Read the full article23 July 2025
We're missing the bigger picture behind Sycamore Gap
If its value was that it was greatly appreciated by so many people, do the individual trees being felled largely unseen in Brazilian rainforests count for less?
Read the full article16 July 2025
Thoreau and the power of civil disobedience
The American philosopher championed ideas that inspired the likes of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr – as well as the protests of today
Read the full article09 July 2025
We can't just ignore bad news
Those who turn their back on world news and just get on with their lives inside a protective bubble are part of the problem
Read the full article