Philosophy
Democrats haven’t realized that you can’t defend democracy without explaining it
To counter right-wing authoritarianism, the center-left must articulate a broad vision of a progressive society
By Jim Carroll
More in Philosophy
Embracing uncertainty may be a better way to cure conspiracist thinking
By Ivan Oransky
If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, labels can make the truth that much harder to find
America’s polarization is ultimately an epistemic problem
By Matthew Sheffield
Former libertarian writer and policy wonk Will Wilkinson discusses how many far-right Christians and secular libertarians have decided that facts are optional and evidence does not matter
Ghost stories tell us more about ourselves than the supernatural creatures they describe
By Melanie Trecek-King
Resorting to the supernatural to explain the unexplainable is a failure of imagination
Want to ‘do your own research’ on vaccines or anything else? First realize what research actually means
By Melanie Trecek-King
In order to credibly dispute the conclusions of experts, you have to be one yourself
Bad people who are Christians are still Christians, no matter how that makes other Christians feel
By Robert Repino
If Christians want dialogue with people outside of the faith, they need to be willing to admit that even ‘true’ Christianity can sometimes get things wrong
Why critical thinking is the long-term cure for disinformation
By Matthew Sheffield
While combating specific false beliefs is important, in the long run, helping people learn to spot misinformation is the best way to counter it
In the abortion debate, don’t pretend that biology can answer the question of when humanity begins
By Sahotra Sarkar
Science can observe the various phases of fetal development, but it cannot determine when human life begins
When evaluating anecdotes, remember that you are the easiest person you can fool
By Melanie Trecek-King
Many people think that anecdotes are a sure-fire way of knowing what’s true, but anecdotes are infamously unreliable.
Chris Rufo’s critical race theory reporting is filled with errors, and he doesn’t seem to care
By Samuel Hoadley-Brill
A Republican activist has made himself into a conservative celebrity by attacking critical race theory, but his sloppy work shows he either doesn’t understand it or is actively lying
Charlie Kirk and Christian nationalist college team up for new propaganda campaign
By Matthew Boedy
Conservatives believe that America was divinely created, and they want schools to teach this
Meritocracy is a harmful myth that encourages selfishness and indifference
By Clifton Mark
The belief that merit rather than luck determines success or failure in the world is demonstrably false
The trust paradox: We learn more when we trust more, even when we’re wrong
By Hugo Mercier
It’s easy to see downsides of misplaced trust, it’s much more difficult to see how we could have benefited by believing in others
Some of us did not die: How I began learning to talk to grief
By Mona Eltahawy
Learning to confront loss is a critical part of our humanity, one that modern society often discourages
The myth of American exceptionalism is just as much a myth about ourselves
By Anna Tarkov
I used to have both my father and America on a pedestal. My faith in both has been severely shaken, but I still have hope that it’s not too late for one of them.
Society is still judging women who have casual sex
By Jaimie Arona Krems and Michael Varnum
New research finds that regardless of their religious views, people are more likely to condemn women having casual sex than men
Have Trump Republicans lost their grip on reality, or are they just lying to pollsters?
By Matthew Sheffield
Surveys keep finding that GOP respondents believe falsehoods, but what if they’re just lying in support of the party?
In times of suffering, simply being there for someone can be the greatest gift
By Nicholaos Jones
As individuals, we often cannot resolve the pain of others. The value of empathetic companionship in such cases should not be underestimated.
Liz Cheney won’t be the last casualty of conservatism’s epistemic collapse
By Matthew Sheffield
The intellectual destruction of Christian fundamentalism has caused the American right to believe that truth is entirely the product of social power
Liberalism bereft of moral pragmatism will never convince its critics
By Adrian Rutt
Realizing that there is no common ground in philosophy is the first step in finding it politically
We often speak of what we believe, but we rarely contemplate the origins of our ideas
By Miriam Schoenfield
While it can be a difficult question, figuring out where our ideas came from is an important one to ask