Philosophy For Our Times

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes What could secular Buddhist philosophy bring to a dissatisfied West? Buddhist teacher and author Stephen Batchelor gives ancient wisdom a 21st century home. Music: Apache Force by Little Glass Men available under an Attribution Creative Commons License. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv –...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The headlines of new discoveries about the universe continue, but are we approaching our limits? Mathematician and broadcaster Marcus du Sautoy explores. Music: Apache Force by Little Glass Men available under an Attribution Creative Commons License There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – vid...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We effortlessly use language to describe the world. Yet the puzzle of how language achieves this has stumped philosophers for a century. Are we simply missing the right theory? Or is something more profound at stake if language does not in fact provide descriptions of the world at all. 2017 Lebowitz Prize-win...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We think information provides facts about the world around us. Yet some in quantum physics now claim that information is primary, more fundamental than matter. Could information provide the ultimate constituents of the world? Or is this a delusion borne from the specific and passing vocabulary of a digital ag...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes How can we rethink society to halt existential crises as rapidly as the threats can occur? Director of the Centre for Effective Altruism Sebastian Farquhar outlines his solution. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more:&n...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From writing to art, the intense to the light hearted, imagination transports us to untold fantasy worlds. Yet Picasso claimed "everything you can imagine is real". Should we dismiss this as the overblown claims of a celebrity artist, or might what we take to be reality actually be a product of the power of i...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Has Westminster made progress to equality? Cameron told Shadow Secretary for Business Angela Eagle to “Calm down dear”; here she forecasts the future of sexism in politics. Music: Apache Force by Little Glass Men and Enter the World of Paradise by D SMILEZ available under an Attribution Creative Commons Licen...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Far flung destinations are often home to those seeking to 'find themselves'. Encouraged perhaps by Socrates’ maxim for an ethical life: 'know thyself'. But do any of us ever arrive? Is the self a real and stable enough 'thing' that it can be known? Or can we never catch sight of ourselves in the mirror? Anthr...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Can the threat of terror be fought with compassion? Conservative politician and Spectator's 'Backbencher of the year' Charlotte Leslie issues a rallying cry for the politics of love. Music: Apache Force by Little Glass Men and Enter the World of Paradise by D SMILEZ available under an Attribution Creative Com...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Is statistical and scientific ignorance undermining the fight against sexism? Darwinian philosopher Helena Cronin argues sex difference should be accepted not ignored. Music: Apache Force by Little Glass Men and Enter the World of Paradise by D SMILEZ available under an Attribution Creative Commons License Th...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The shaming exposes and social media scandals of today can seem as backwards as the stocks or the pillory. Yet the fear of shame can bring the powerful to heel. What is our curious shame about shame? Might shaming be our best tool for change? Or should we always be fearful of the tyranny of the mob? Comedian...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The first female to enter the Radio Hall of Fame, MBE recipient Annie Nightingale is the BBC's longest serving DJ. Join the "first lady of radio" as she discusses 50 years at the forefront of Britain's shifting music scene. Music: Apache Force by Little Glass Men available under an Attribution Creative Common...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Fulfill your dreams and make the most of your life! So advocate headmasters, moralists and revolutionaries. Yet poet John Betjeman's principal regret was that he did not have more sex. Is life not about goals and ambition but about the moment of being? Or is making our dreams real the only way to fulfillment?...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Copernicus and Darwin taught us to be skeptical of feeling we were special. Yet from the size of the electron to the cosmological constant our universe is strangely fine-tuned for life. Is this a spectacularly fortuitous accident? Has the universe been tailored for us or do the theories just make it look that...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes At 10 billion matches, Tinder has made more connections than there are people. But neuroscience reveals that too much choice can increase expectations and reduce desire. Is choice actually a bad thing? Have dating apps democratised intimacy, or are they warping our relationships beyond repair? KCL philosopher...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Mathematics is rarely seen as a romantic discipline. But 30% of couples now meet using online algorithms. Could big data be the key to making love last? And if so what makes for the perfect match? eHarmony's Chief Scientist Steve Carter unveils new research into the science of love and compatibility. (Support...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Terror attacks on satellites would cause mass destruction within moments. Why are we ignoring the risks? Space security expert and Chatham House Research Director Patricia Lewis reveals the silent dangers in space. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In 2013 we found the Higgs boson. Then, in early 2016, we found Gravitational Waves. Eminent CERN physicist John Ellis asks: what's next for 21st-century physics? There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more:  https://iai...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Where are the alternatives to injustice and uncertainty? Author of The Establishment Owen Jones makes the case for an end to despair and a new era of politics. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more:  https://iai.tv...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We all think we know what gravity is. But where gravity comes from stumped Newton, and 300 years later we are no closer to an explanation. We don't even have a mathematical account of gravity that applies in all situations. Why is a force so central to the universe so elusive in its character? Theoretical phy...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We think we know what is real and what is not. Yet strangely we can't even agree what reality is made of - everyday things, particles and energy, or language and thought. Is reality essentially incomprehensible because it is beyond us? Or do we just need time and patience to uncover the truth? CERN physicist...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The $3bn Human Genome project to uncover the genetic cause of disease was billed as ground breaking. Despite frequent positive newspaper headlines, critics argue we have uncovered almost nothing about disease. Will it eventually prove useful or are genes not the blueprint for life we had imagined? Author of T...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Freedom is a goal we all endorse. Yes as neuroscience shows and history suggests, we are less content when we have more choice. Is too much freedom paradoxically debilitating? Do we need constraints to thrive, and might our chains be key to our freedom? Or is this a dangerous conceit of the privileged and fre...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From bats to beetles, animals sense the world differently in order to survive. Yet we think seeing and feeling tell us how things really are. Might our senses be radically limited? Are science and logic routes to escape our sensory limitations, or is feeling the rain on our skin the closest we get to truth? C...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We see community and society as good. Yet communities are also fortresses of privilege and conformity, as migrants know only too well. Is the tribe, from the football team to the nation, to be feared and contained? Or is finding our place in a larger group the core of what it is to be human? Author of Exotic...