Effective altruism has suffered a blow, but the extreme ideas surrounding it have infiltrated some of our most powerful organisations
Book review: Fluke by Brian Klaas
The musings of a “disillusioned social scientist”
Book review: Think by Svend Brinkmann
Think: In Defence of a Thoughtful Life (Polity) by Svend Brinkmann, translated by Tam McTurk Thinking is a hot topic, just not in relation to humans. Instead, it’s artificial intelligence that prompts daily discussion. Svend Brinkmann’s stimulating book invites the reader to reflect on the human ability to think, rather than the growing capabilities of […]
Wrong side of history?
Marie Stopes (1880-1958), British pioneer of birth control – and eugenicist. Credit: Alamy If the internet has a favourite argument, it can be summed up in four words – that whoever is against one’s own opinion must be on the “wrong side of history”. The argument’s main strength seems to be its versatility. It can […]
The philosophy of the death penalty
“Winter’s Gibbet” in Northumberland marks the site of a murder and execution in the late 18th century. Credit: Alamy On 9 February last year, the then-deputy chair of the Conservative Party, Lee Anderson, called for the return of capital punishment to the UK. “Nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed,” he said. “You […]
Dinosaur dreams and nightmares
The newly excavated Dorset Pliosaur gets Samira Ahmed thinking about our fascination with dinosaurs and our fear of extinction
The paralysing pessimism of Critical Race Theory
‘‘Black people are the magical faces at the bottom of society’s well. Even the poorest whites, those who must live their lives only a few levels above, gain their self-esteem by gazing down on us. Surely, they must know that their deliverance depends on letting down their ropes. Only by working together is escape possible. […]
Reality is dead, long live reason
It is not possible to discover the ultimate truth of things. But we still need to use the vital tools of reason and observation.
Intelligence is everywhere
James Bridle’s “Ways of Being” and Ray Nayler’s “The Mountain in the Sea” aim to explode our tired ideas about intelligent life.
In a word: “mob”
Michael Rosen’s column on language and its uses.