We believe things because doing so helps us belong and upholds a certain moral order, but not necessarily because they are true.
- Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of Sydney
Conrad suggests our sense of being good derives from our belonging – yet that to which we belong is not necessarily good.
‘Frankly, I think the whole society is nuts,’ Joseph Heller once said – ‘and the question is: What does a sane man do in an insane society?’
Donald Trump was supported by a group of converted Democrats, like Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, RFK Jr and Tulsi Gabbard, who are united by membership of the intellectual dark web. What is it?
Quoting this book dating from the 5th century BCE has become an internet cliché – but what does it really say?
In his essays, Walter Benjamin sought to understand the nature of modernity. He drew on Marxism but was not contained by it, ranging across literature, art, popular culture, even Jewish mysticism.
Published in 1821, Thomas De Quincey’s book created the archetype of the drug addict as cultural figure. Part story, part memoir, part essay, it mines the highs and lows of addiction.
The possibilities of ‘more human than human’ artificial intelligence and the dangers of playing God and are not new – they’re the subjects of one of the world’s first science-fiction novels.
Hamlet, el atormentado príncipe de Dinamarca, encarna nuestras propias luchas: entre la razón y la violencia, el valor y la inacción. Es un personaje moderno en una obra constantemente referenciada
Hamlet, the tormented prince of Denmark, embodies our own struggles: between reason and violence, courage and inaction. He is a modern character in an endlessly quotable play.
Addressed to a ‘fair youth’ and later, ‘a dark lady’, the sonnets are less well known than Shakespeare’s plays. A journey into them is an unsettling and beguiling literary adventure.
First published in 1865, Lewis Carroll’s children’s book has never been out of print. It continues to appeal to adults who prefer childhood.
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