Modern societies, argues Michel Foucault, think and talk about sex far more than their forebears ever did. But this has not been liberating.
- Professor in Philosophy, Australian Catholic University
Plutarch’s practical ethics propose two ways we can live happier, more serene lives.
Philosopher and writer Albert Camus defined gangster morality as ‘an inexhaustible round of triumph and revenge, defeat and resentment’. Sound familiar?
Recent studies have shown declining levels of trust in democratic systems. We asked experts to consider democracy’s strengths and weaknesses.
Are we all political animals? Aristotle thought so. Politics, he believed, was the art of the possible, but extremes of wealth could harm democracies.
We found out the favourite 2025 books of 35 expert readers – and the Books & Ideas team shares our own picks, too.
Bullet casings found at the scene of the shooting were inscribed with various messages linked to online gaming and meme subcultures.
First published in 1625, the British philosopher’s collected essays mix poetic aphorisms with prescient reflections on ‘false news’ and ‘cunning men’.
Mussolini’s rise shows that strongmen are only as powerful as the democratic opposition allows. Failing to take them seriously enables their success.
One of the most influential philosophical works of the 20th century, Discipline and Punish is unsettlingly prescient in our age of digital surveillance.
We’ve invited writers, from fields as diverse as wildlife ecology, politics and literature, to nominate their best books of 2024. And this year, the Books & Ideas team share their own picks, too.
Written at a time when there were different norms around sexual morality, Plato’s Symposium is one of the principal sources of the Greek philosopher’s views on love and beauty.
Formulaic appeals to “free speech” do not remove the need to critically challenge extreme and antidemocratic views.
Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was anything but banal. His case is an apt reminder of how evil agents can deflect accountability, denying victims even the thin consolation of the moral high ground.
The Slovenian philosopher is one of the world’s most famous thinkers. But what does he actually stand for?
German philosopher Martin Heidegger was one of the 20th century’s most feted thinkers. A new book examining his Nazism in light of the now-available evidence, is a troubling, timely read.
Pierre Hadot sees philosophy as a guide to improving our contemporary lives.
Stoic philosopher Epictetus tells us not to worry about things we can’t control, prepare for the unexpected and slow down on the judginess. This is great lockdown advice over 2,000 years later.
The White Lotus is a tense, new drama about the lives of the rich and privileged, set in a Hawaiian resort. But the protagonists are not lying around reading airport novels.
A gem of restrained outrage, Voltaire’s novella speaks powerfully to us in this time of pandemics, floods, conspiracy theories and growing incivility.
Western thinkers have long valued time alone as a form of inner rejuvenation. Here, then, are four benefits to solitude.
An examination of academic publications since 1980 suggests the status of ‘cultural Marxism’ has been greatly exaggerated.
The Roman Stoic Seneca is the author of many letters and dialogues that can help us overcome adversity.
The Meditations, by Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, has been described as an ageless, secular gospel. Written in a time of pandemic, it speaks powerfully to us today.
Camus’ The Plague is an uncannily prescient description of the world of COVID-19, giving us reasons for reflection, and finally for hope.
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