A new Hackett edition of On Liberty now credits Harriet Taylor Mill as co-author. But when is it justified to revise authorship, and on what grounds? Where do we draw the line between influence, contribution, and authorship? More philosophy news: philosophynow.org/issues/173/N...
Is something right because God commands it, or does God command it because it is right? Best known as Plato’s Euthyphro Dilemma, this question has long shaped debates across traditions. Is divine law fixed, or open to interpretation? And what follows? philosophynow.org/issues/173/I...
What happens when distance turns people into “dots”? Philosophy Now Founder Rick Lewis gives a lecture on objectivity, perspective, and moral detachment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZHJ...
What does our laughter say about us? Comedy can bond us, relieve tension, or act as a social weapon. But does what we find funny reveal who we are? On Charlie Chaplin’s birthday, a philosophical look at humour: philosophynow.org/issues/173/I...
We never observe causation - only correlation. So why assume the brain produces consciousness? Drawing on medieval Islamic philosophy, Adnan Abbasi explores a radical alternative, and its implications for understanding AI: philosophynow.org/issues/173/T...
What if the problem isn’t that we do too little, but that we do too much? In "In Defense of Idleness" (issue 173), Wendell O’Brien argues that idleness is underrated: philosophynow.org/issues/173/I...
We are saddened by the passing of philosopher Susan Haack. She left behind a body of work devoted to truth, evidence, and the discipline of inquiry. In her recent interview she argued the real danger of "post-truth" is erosion of trust: philosophynow.org/issues/169/T...
Around Easter, love is often framed as giving and surrender. For Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, too, love is self-emptying. Divine ideal, or something human love can approach? Read "Love & Emptiness in the Sufi Tradition" in issue 173: philosophynow.org/issues/173/L...
Meet fortnightly on Zoom with Dr Anja Steinbauer and others at midnight (UK time) for a candlelit hour of thinking about life, the universe and everything. Tonight's topic is "Journey". Entry from 23:45. Sign up at:
www.meetup.com/london-philo...
JUST OUT: Issue 173 of Philosophy Now explores Islamic Philosophy: Sufi love & selfhood, law & reform, and what medieval metaphysics might say about AI. Also: hypocrisy, memes, comedy & more. philosophynow.org
Observation is never neutral, it’s shaped by how we ask. Heisenberg’s philosophy challenges the idea of a fixed world simply waiting to be uncovered: philosophynow.org/issues/172/H...
Does philosophy have rituals? At the London Mithraeum, Stoic ideas were lived through ritual. Today: meditation, therapy, even academic debate follow patterns that shape thinking. Do these sharpen thought, or limit it?
Explore Mithraism: philosophynow.org/issues/172/A...
Would you ruin your shoes to save a drowning child? Peter Singer’s idea: if you’d help nearby at little cost, why not far away? Death in a Shallow Pond by David Edmonds explores this, and Effective Altruism. Review by Dylan Neri pushes back, sharply: philosophynow.org/issues/172/D...
Today brings together Happiness Day and World Social Justice Day - two ideals that are often assumed to go hand in hand. But do they? In Le Guin’s The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, an entire society’s happiness depends on the suffering of a single child. Which matters more: happiness or justice?
In this conversation with Vansh Deswal on The Human Lens, Anja Steinbauer, an Editor of Philosophy Now and Founder of Philosophy For All, reflects on how philosophy shapes the way we think, disagree, and live, and why #philosophymatters. Full interview: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZpO...
This weekend we lost one of the most influential philosophers of the modern era: Jürgen Habermas (1929–2026). Habermas spent his life defending the idea that democracy depends on rational public dialogue: philosophynow.org/issues/26/Ju...
When life gets messy, should you go to psychotherapy… or philosophy? In Amazing Times at the Pub Agora by John Douglas Mullen, a troubled man walks into a bar and ends up discussing his moral problem with a philosopher: philosophynow.org/issues/172/A...
Today is the Birthday of Douglas Adams, who often poked fun at philosophers, yet few writers have smuggled so many philosophical questions into comedy. Read Massimo Pigliucci's review of "Philosophy and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy": philosophynow.org/issues/104/P...
Yesterday was International Women's Day. More than two centuries ago, Mary Wollstonecraft made a bold case for women’s education and intellectual independence in her groundbreaking book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: philosophynow.org/issues/147/A...
How should children be educated - through discipline or nurturing curiosity? Philosophers have long disagreed. Matt Qvortrup shares some highlights: philosophynow.org/issues/172/P...
In Prague 22, philosopher Raymond Tallis rides a tram and reflects on what it means to be a thinking, embodied human being moving through history and place. Fittingly for World Book Day, this was the first book ever published by Philosophy Now: philosophynow.org/issues/167/P...
What can philosophy say about grief? Nearly 2,000 years ago, Plutarch faced the death of his young daughter. Read extracts from Plutarch's moving letter to his wife and Massimo Pigliucci's reflection on it: philosophynow.org/issues/172/P...
In The Post-Paralysis Peace Paradox, Cassandra Brandt reflects on how Stoic ideas helped transform enforced stillness into a different kind of freedom: philosophynow.org/issues/172/T...
In Hitchcock’s Rope two students convince themselves that Nietzschean “superiority” idea - the notorious "Übermensch" - justifies murder. Les Jones’ philosophical review (issue 172) suggests that Nietzsche would have begged to differ: philosophynow.org/issues/172/R...
The image of Quintillian debating is by Stephen Lahey and was draw for the article about Quintillian in the Roman Philosophy issue of Philosophy Now, which is out now. philosophynow.org/issues/172
We're delighted to announce that the lively Philosophy Now discussion forum is back online again. It has a new address (canzookia.com). No hidden algorithms, and you can choose from sub-forums covering every area of #philosophy.
In "Brief Lives: Friedrich Nietzsche" (issue 172) Hilarius Bogbinder considers the all too human life of the notorious iconoclast: philosophynow.org/issues/172/F...
For Cicero, virtus - virtue - was not private morality alone, but the foundation of public leadership. Read ‘Cicero & the Ideal of Virtue’ by Abdullah Shaikh in Philosophy Now issue 172: philosophynow.org/issues/172/C...
In "Good Grief!" (issue 172) Tim Madigan tells the story and ponders the philosophy of Peanuts - the iconic cartoon by Charles Schulz, featuring Charlie and Sally Brown, Snoopy, and friends: philosophynow.org/issues/172/G...
In "A Very Short History of Critical Thinking" (issue 172), corporate philosopher Luc de Brabandere summarises a long history through key figures of thought. A fresco by Rodolphe Duprey illustrates the article: philosophynow.org/issues/172/A...
