What is space? The 300-year-old philosophical battle that is still raging today
Some philosophers believe space is a giant container, while others think it's all in our heads.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Philosophy
Displaying 1 - 20 of 197 articles
How foreign policy experts can work around Donald Trump
Precisely because of his problems at home, Donald Trump wants to do more abroad – possibly with disastrous results. How can those who know foreign policy rein him in?
What Archbishop Tutu’s ubuntu credo teaches the world about justice and harmony
Archbishop Bishop Desmond Tutu is well known for having invoked an ubuntu ethic to evaluate South African society, and he can take substantial credit for having made the term familiar.
The philosopher who was too hot for Playboy
Around 1970 Playboy magazine received an unexpected proposition from the radical German philosopher Herbert Marcuse - he would do an interview, if he could pose for the magazine's centrefold.
After Charlottesville, how we define tolerance becomes a key question
Our society is now intolerant of those who are intolerant of others; they can be legally penalised. But is that in itself a failure of tolerance?
Decolonising research methodology must include undoing its dirty history
The process of decolonising research methodology is an ethical, ontological and political exercise rather than simply one of approach and ways of producing knowledge.
How tolerance enhances democracy and the quest for human flourishing
Schools and universities have a responsibility to protect students from hate speech while also exposing them to views that disrupt their ways of thinking and ideas of the world.
Conversation between a biologist and a philosopher: identity, metamorphosis and the self (2)
The caterpillar and the butterfly: two forms, a single individual? A biologist and a philosopher explore this paradox.
Conversation between a biologist and a philosopher: self, transformation and religion (1)
A biologist and a philosopher discuss the illusion of being oneself and religion.
What is hedonism and how does it affect your health?
Savouring the pleasures in life is linked to better health and well-being. And no, that doesn't necessarily mean binge drinking or all-night wild parties.
Racism is real, race is not: a philosopher’s perspective
There is no good way to make sense of the category "race" from biological or social perspectives.
Is law a social science? Lessons from a Canadian law school
Most law schools frown upon their students questioning how laws were originally conceived. But a Canadian law school once argued convincingly that law should be taught as a social science.
How to define dignity and its place in human rights – a philosopher’s view
The concept of dignity is not universal. It means different things to different people and different cultures.
How do you know that what you know is true? That’s epistemology
It's not what you think you know, but how you can justify your knowledge that is most important.
Why the US doesn’t understand Chinese thought – and must
It's more important than ever that the U.S. understand China. So why don't our universities teach Chinese thought?
How an obscure Austrian philosopher saw through our empty rhetoric about ‘sustainability’
Every day brings new calls for sustainability, as humanity's actual behaviour moves ever further away from it. What can we learn from an obscure Austrian philosopher?
Could an African passport bring to life the dreams of Nkrumah, Senghor and Touré?
The introduction of an African passport has the capacity to bring about increased migration of Africans within Africa.
Why we welcome poetic justice and despair at poetic injustice
Sometimes people like poetic justice because the law is not in a position to mete out what is deserved.
What is wisdom, and is it unwise to pursue it?
It is a tall order to try to become wise. And the bad news is that it appears harder than many philosophers have thought.
How do we choose who gets the flu vaccine in a pandemic – paramedics, prisoners or the public?
Australia needs to think about who gets the flu vaccine first before the next pandemic strikes and supplies run low.
Top contributors
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Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Deakin University
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Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Notre Dame Australia
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Professor of Philosophy, La Trobe University
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Lecturer in Critical Thinking, Director of the UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland
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Adjunct Lecturer, UNSW
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Professor of Public Ethics, Centre For Applied Philosophy & Public Ethics (CAPPE), Charles Sturt University
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Associate Professor in Political Science and International Relations, University of Western Australia
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Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy, University of Johannesburg
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Philosopher, University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Western Sydney University
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Senior Research Fellow, Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
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Associate Professor in Philosophy, Deakin University
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Adjunct Professor, Environmental Philosophy, La Trobe University
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Moral philosopher, Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law, Griffith University
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Associate Professor, University of Canberra
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