philopapers

Harvard philosopher Tu Wei-ming is the most famous advocate of the Confucian tradition outside China. Anja Steinbauer talked to him in Boston. Professor Tu, could you give our readers an idea of where your philosophical interests lie? When I first came to the States to study philosophy in 1962, to my great surprise, at the […]

For years debate has raged among African philosophers: does Africa have a distinct philosophical tradition, and if so, what is its nature? Rick Lewis asked Emmanuel Eze, who though based in the United States is a leading figure on the African philosophical scene. Are there philosophical traditions which are distinctively African? There certainly are distinctive

Nick Bostrom tells us a philosophical parable about death. Once upon a time the world was tyrannized by a great dragon. The dragon stood taller than the largest cathedral, and was covered with thick black scales. Its red eyes glowed with hate, and from its terrible jaws flowed an incessant stream of evil-smelling yellowish slime.

Michael Hand considers the pros and cons of courting media attention. As a philosopher of education, I do philosophy with a view to changing educational policy and practice for the better. I ask questions about what and how children should be taught in schools. I do this partly because the questions are philosophically interesting, but

Christine Daigle discusses some of the key concepts and ideas in Sartre’s most important philosophical book. June 1943, occupied France. A writer named Jean-Paul Sartre sees his latest philosophical manuscript, Being and Nothingness, a “phenomenological essay on ontology”, 722 pages of fine print (in the original French edition), published in the midst of World War

Howard Darmstadter asks why rational debate doesn’t often change minds. Political and religious opinions often seem bedded in mental concrete, immune from polite rational attempts at persuasion. (My mother cautioned me to avoid talking politics or religion with strangers.) But lately, all sorts of ostensibly non-political issues have been politicized. People with fringe politics tend

Katie Javanaud sees a dramatic vindication of Socrates. In philosophy professor William Lyons’ new play, Socrates and His Clouds, recently premiered in London by The Meddlers’ Theatre Company, Socrates, finally, is vindicated! Lyons’ drama is loosely based on Aristophanes’ ancient play The Clouds, written in 423BC. In this comedy, Aristophanes poked fun at Socrates and

by Joel Marks “So good to see you again. How long has it been?” “Well, Uncle Barry, we haven’t been back to the States since 2001, and we always visit you when we’re here; so it’s been 12 years!” “That is sinful. That is impossible to believe.” “I think we can offer you the living

Stephen Clark examines how far Aristotle’s concept of friendship might apply to animals, among themselves and between us and them. One of the stories told about Pythagoras is that he rebuked a man who was beating a dog, with the words “That’s a friend of mine – I knew him by his voice.” The story