“The true object of education, like that of every other moral process, is the generation of happiness. Happiness to the individual in the first place. If individuals were universally happy, the [...]
Living into the risk and responsibility of the multiple identities we carry.
“If you don’t understand yourself you don’t understand anybody else,” the young poet Nikki Giovanni told the [...]
“The gifts of the inner world must be accepted as gifts in the outer world if they are to retain their vitality.”
It is a gladness to be able to call one’s daily work a labor of [...]
“Intelligence is not something which exists, but something one does.”
“Intelligence supposes good will,” Simone de Beauvoir wrote. “Sensitivity is nothing else but the [...]
On remaining in loving contact with the intangible, immutable part of the self.
One of the hardest things in life is watching a loved one’s mind slowly syphoned by cognitive illness — [...]
A vibrant foray into “a perfect world of wonders” fueled by the bittersweet dimension of life.
Marianne North (October 24, 1830–August 30, 1890) was twenty-six and had just lost [...]
“Everything we do matters, and matters wondrously.”
There is a peculiar existential loneliness that entombs us whenever we lose our sense of connection to the web of being — the [...]
It is rarely denied that, in societies remotely like our own, an
impressive array of vices or human failings is on display. Hypocrisy, greed, cruelty, prejudice, envy, sentimentality, dishonesty, [...]
A history of philosophy in its most famous quotes. Today: Albert Schweitzer, medical doctor, theologian, musician and philosopher who left it all behind to go and help the poorest in Africa, saying: [...]
Kant is an unlikely source of humour, one might suppose, given his, by
all accounts, reined-in, well-regulated way of life. On the other hand,
others report that he could be quite a wit and good [...]
Are you a German speaker? If so, we now offer a subset of Daily Philosophy articles in German at the address: daily-philosophy.de
Leave a comment to tell us how you like it and what we can [...]
What sort of rights should a fetus or embryo have? This isn’t the only question in debates about abortion, but it’s an important one.
The central claim of anti-abortion activists is that [...]
For those of us who are curious about philosophy and keep studying it,
we are often part of events that put us to the test. A common scenario
can be described more or less as follows.
Imagine you are [...]
Shane Epting is an assistant professor of philosophy at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. His research focuses on sustainability, transportation, environmental justice and urban [...]
Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon”: A Review
After two critically acclaimed films winning mainstream attention, Damian Chazelle is back with a depiction of the 1920s film industry in [...]
The Aristotelian and Noble Art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Last year, marching steadily towards a midlife crisis, I asked my Twitter followers: “What martial art would you start learning at age [...]
“Was ist Enchantment?” Why the way forward requires us to abandon illusions
Michel Foucault begins his 1983 lecture “What is Enlightenment?” with the claim that the whole of [...]
Remembering California: The Golden State at a crossroad
“Best way to live in California is to be from somewhere else.”— Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men
The beacon of hope that [...]
Cormac McCarthy’s “The Passenger”: A Review
“He knew that on the day of his death he would see her face and he could hope to carry that beauty into the darkness with him, the [...]
The late Pope Benedict XVI’s writing as an antidote to the regime’s spell
On the day of Pope Benedict XVI’s death, one journalist commented that “never has there been such a [...]
