Topic: Philosophy

I still love Kierkegaard

He is the dramatic thunderstorm at the heart of philosophy and his provocation is more valuable than ever

Omens

When we peer into the fog of the deep future what do we see – human extinction or a future among the stars?

The great swindle

From pickled sharks to compositions in silence, fake ideas and fake emotions have elbowed out truth and beauty

Science fictions

Is the scientific endeavour always a bold and noble quest for truth? Not when it is writing its own history

The kindness of beasts

Dogs rescue their friends and elephants care for injured kin – humans have no monopoly on moral behaviour

The visitor

Solitude is enlightening but if it does not lead us back to society, it can become a spiritual dead end

Forests of the mind

What is the greatest human gift? It is metaphor, carrying a cargo of meaning across the oceans that divide us

Out of kilter

Old ideas of balance and harmony need to be put aside if we are to save a natural world in constant flux

Who knows what

For decades the sciences and the humanities have fought for knowledge supremacy. Both sides are wrong-headed