Philosophy

Legislation or an unexpected saviour could help – but the tech giants will try to crush them

Andy West, the man who inspired the hit new drama, on nature, change and the ‘terrible, dehumanising’ life behind bars

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

Promises to ourselves have a superficially similar structure to promises to other people – but with a kind of double lock

A Scottish geologist made a discovery that altered the way we see ourselves, and our planet. And yet his name is widely forgotten

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

When we lose someone it distorts everything - even the world around us

Cameras and digital tracking make our lives more convenient – but at what cost?

The philosopher’s occult vision of artificial intelligence seemed like fringe raving – until it was taken up by tech billionaires and far right thinkers

If we reach the point where real friends seem retro, life will have lost all its meaning

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

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

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

The prevalence of dog attacks points to an underlying moral failing: too many owners are shirking their basic responsibilities

There is, so far, no philosophical consensus about how we should go about our lives. We have to keep thinking for ourselves

We shouldn’t need philosophy to tell us that wealth redistribution could alleviate extensive poverty

The street artist’s work leaves an indelible trace in our memories and it will last long after authorities scrub away the paint

Uniting in collective mockery of self-obsessed billionaires can help us to remain sane

A package resort deal reminded me of one of the most important things in life – the ancient Greek philosopher would have approved

Philosophers have long debated the concept of immortality but now Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are concerned too

In today's world, media doesn't need AI - it needs real journalists

A cross of St George or a union jack flown today means the same as it did in 1977: ‘You’re not welcome here’

Like bullfighting, this practice shows little respect for animals’ capacity to suffer and turns their deaths into a spectacle

What do Patrick Süskind’s classic and Asako Yuzuki's contemporary novel tell us about the philosophy of smell and taste?

There is a difference between riding your luck and being lucky, just ask Leah Williamson and the Lionesses

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?

France used to revere its intellectuals – but the men moaning about ‘le wokisme’ are intellectual lightweights

The American philosopher championed ideas that inspired the likes of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr – as well as the protests of today

Those who turn their back on world news and just get on with their lives inside a protective bubble are part of the problem

A new TV series asks what happens if human minds can be fully uploaded into machines

He might stop obsessing about building walls – and it might just improve his political philosophy

If Rousseau is right, it’s not just Venice and Bezos that are sinking. We all are