Philosophy

Philosophy

Examine life’s biggest questions, from ethics to existence, with curiosity and critical thinking.

A large jagged rock juts out of rough ocean waves, with water crashing against its base under a cloudy sky—standing firm like true leadership amidst the storm.
In a world of fast answers, leadership shaped by suffering is radical — and transformative.
Collage showing hands using a smartphone in the foreground and a vintage illustration of a printing press in the background, separated by arrows pointing opposite directions.
Digital tools are pulling us away from fixed texts and back toward fluid, interactive communication.
A human skull rests on a closed book beside an inkwell, a quill, a candlestick, and an open book—evoking the timeless allure of books that will change your life on a dimly lit tabletop.
"Our ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death but a good life to the very end."
Black and white illustration of a 19th-century steam-powered paddleboat, reminiscent of the one commandeered by Robert Smalls, docked by the shore with smoke rising from its central smokestack.
In this excerpt from "The First Eight," Congressman Jim Clyburn shares the story of Robert Smalls, the man whose audience with Lincoln may have saved the Union army.
Collage with red and gray tones shows a hand writing in a notebook, crumpled paper, an iceberg, and the text “The Nightcrawler” at the top—capturing a mood of long thinking and creative struggle.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
In 2017, a kilonova sent light and gravitational waves across the Universe. Here on Earth, there was a 1.7 second signal arrival delay. Why?
A woman displays stoicism as she grimaces, unfazed by a pancake landing on her head while holding a frying pan in a kitchen setting.
Ryan Holiday on why wisdom depends on failure, experimentation, and the courage to admit when we’re wrong.
A cylindrical space habitat with green landscapes and rivers, viewed from inside; two moons and a bright sun-like object are visible through large windowed sections.
NASA’s Caleb Scharf talks with Big Think about life’s long experiment in expansion.
Scott Britton, in business attire, sits cross-legged on a desk meditating, while blurred figures move in the background.
Former tech founder Scott Britton wants to shatter the binary myth that separates driving ambition from inner development.
Book cover of "Do Aliens Speak Physics?" by Daniel Whiteson and Andy Warner, featuring a blue background, yellow and white text, and an illustration of a robot and people interacting.
Do aliens speak the same physics that we do, with similar laws, observables, and underlying mathematics. Maybe not, argues Daniel Whiteson.
Silhouettes of people walk toward a large stack of books on a barren, monochrome landscape with a pale background.
The great books aren’t just classics — they’re cultural Schelling points that give our minds a place to meet up in the world of ideas.
A grayscale portrait of a smiling man is overlaid on classical artwork with pink and black graphic elements, evoking a sense of desire. The text at the top reads "THE NIGHT CRAWLER.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Two women at a window; one leans on the sill smiling, perhaps sharing jokes, while the other stands behind, partially concealed, holding a white cloth to her face.
Is your humor affiliative or adversarial?
A stylized image of a red brain half with a curved red arrow pointing downward, set against a blue background with circular patterns.
Metacognition — the ability to think about your thinking — can help you learn faster and make better decisions.
A painting of a man with a beard.
Panpsychist philosopher Philip Goff, PhD on mysticism and the future of faith.
John Templeton Foundation
two particles different wavelength speed of light
Times dilate and lengths contract near the speed of light. Bizarre and confusing? Sure. But under relativity, it can't be any other way.
Book cover of "The Shortest History of AI" by Toby Walsh, featuring blue and white text on a dark background with a small glowing circle near the center—an apt nod to early AI like Logic Theorist.
In this excerpt from "The Shortest History of AI," Toby Walsh explores the history of the Logic Theorist, the first AI to prove mathematical theorems.
A split image showing a detailed drawing of a bearded man on the left and a black-and-white portrait of a young Steve Jobs with long hair on the right.
How did Jobs revolutionize tech, not once but continually? Aspiring innovators — and today's Apple — should look to The Bard and seek out singularity.
Three side-by-side images show different views of the Red Spider Nebula in space, captured by JWST, with a bright center and colorful gases in orange, green, and blue against a backdrop of stars.
When dying, Sun-like stars have binary companions, spectacular sights arise from the ionization. JWST spots the Red Spider Nebula in action!