Philosophy
It’s a dull world in which children don’t challenge their parents
On the Shoulders of Giants consists of 12 essays that the late Umberto Eco gave as lectures at the annual…
God save us from Søren Kierkegaard
Surely God, if He existed, would find a major source of entertainment down the ages in the activities of theologians,…
You can hate me as much as you like – it’s not a crime,
As a middle-class conservative I get no legal protection
Searching for God in the twilight on the Aegean Sea
My friend Jonathan Gaisman recently gave rise to a profound philosophical question concerning wine. Jonathan is formidably clever. He has…
The young Descartes: I fought, therefore I thought
Descartes is most generally known these days for being the guy who was sure he existed because he was thinking.…
Six wintry days in Saratoga Springs: Upstate by James Wood reviewed
Alan Querry, the central figure in James Wood’s second novel, is someone who, in his own words, doesn’t ‘think about…
Jessie Greengrass’s Sight is unashamedly philosophical
The precarious stasis of late pregnancy offers the narrator of Jessie Greengrass’s exceptional first novel a space — albeit an…
The secret to midlife: enjoy yourself without regrets
Losing our way in life’s trackless forest, whither should we turn for solace and advice? Wisdom used to be the…
An easy way for the Tories to combat the Corbyn threat? Idleness
As the Tories struggle to find a policy which might appeal to their traditional supporters and not simply ape those…
Racing to Armageddon
An enduring solution to war becomes ever more pressing. But will it always be wishful thinking, as Milos Stankovic suspects?
César Aira is a master of the supernatural
The Argentinian writer César Aira is a prodigy: at the age of 68 he has published, according to a ‘partial…
The Russian way of lying
It’s an old communist tradition – but the roots go back to Ancient Greece
Connoisseurs and con artists
Rogues’ Gallery describes itself as a history of art and its dealers, and Philip Hook, who has worked at the…
When Islam was a byword for benign Enlightenment
Christopher de Bellaigue, a journalist who has spent much of his working life in the Middle East, has grown tired…
Siri Hustvedt’s thoughts on art, science and the human condition
This past autumn has felt more uncomfortable than usual to be a woman looking at men looking at women. From…
The colourful life of ‘Mad Madge’, Duchess of Newcastle
There has never previously, I believe, been a novel about Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, one of the 17th century’s…
The secret of the universe in 250 pages
A few years ago, in Berne, I visited the apartment where Einstein wrote his theory of special relativity, which changed…
How Boris Johnson is like Socrates
In writing an article that argued both for and against the European Union, Boris Johnson was following a solidly classical…
Aristotle on the collective wisdom of Brexit voters
It comes as no surprise to find that there has recently been much talk among Brexit supporters about ‘the wisdom…
Will there be free will in a brave new bioengineered world?
The idea that death may prove a mere ‘technical problem’ in the future just makes me want to hole up in front of Netflix and eat crisps, says Steven Poole
A very Mexican shaggy dog story — from Juan Pablo Villalobos
The Mexican author Juan Pablo Villa-lobos’s first short novel, Down the Rabbit Hole (Fiesta en la madriguera), was published in…
J.M. Coetzee has lost the plot
The Schooldays of Jesus is not, as it happens, about the schooldays of Jesus. It is the Man Booker-nominated sequel…
Even Chekhov might have envied Geoff Dyer’s talent, says Jan Morris
White Sands: Experiences from the Outside World
How Plato predicted the EU referendum campaign
Our politicians, realising that the referendum campaign will be settled not by themselves under the usual parliamentary constraints but by…
Universities’ war against truth
Expressing certainty — about almost anything — is now a sure way to make yourself a pariah on campus
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