Political scientists describe the age we are living in as “post-political”. This controversial concept refers to a noted lack of political alternatives on a global scale.
Plato and his students at his school, where he is believed to have been buried.
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People deeply want to believe they are good, reasonable and worthy. A little humility and curiosity can go a long way toward helping someone feel respected during an argument.
Paul Auster on the set of Lulu on the Bridge, which he directed in 1997.
Moviestore Collection / Alamy
When scientists observed planets revolved around the Sun, they posited we were now like other planets. And if other planets were like Earth, then they most likely also had inhabitants.
Svend Brinkmann’s idea of thoughtfulness is not just about exercising our rational powers to solve puzzles, but the existential dimensions of thinking.
The Morning Comes (1793-1821), by William Blake.
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
What makes us human? Greek and Roman thinkers were preoccupied with this question. And some of their observations of animals foreshadowed recent findings in the behavioural sciences.
Jurgen Habermas pictured in 1981.
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German philosopher Jürgen Habermas, now 94, is a thinker of global significance. Duncan Ivison explains two of his most important ideas.
A bas-relief of Maimonides, sculpted by Brenda Putnam, hangs in the U.S. House of Representatives among statues of historical lawmakers.
Architect of the Capitol/Wikimedia
Randy L. Friedman, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Faith and reason are often treated as opposites. But some philosophers believe they can only strengthen each other, including the Jewish sage Maimonides, who wrote the famous ‘Guide to the Perplexed.’