Nigel Warburton
12 March 2025
Everyday Philosophy: Why corporal punishment must be banned
Modelling physical violence as a way of controlling other people is bad in itself, but emotional damage for victims can be long-lasting and debilitating, too
Read the full article05 March 2025
Everyday Philosophy: John Cage and the sound of silence
A collective called the 1000 Artists have followed in the composer’s footsteps by releasing a silent protest album
Read the full article26 February 2025
How we fuel our philosophers
From Voltaire to Kant, the world would be a duller place without the discipline’s coffee-fuelled breakthroughs
Read the full article12 February 2025
Why does mobile theft feel so personal?
For philosophers Andy Clark and David Chalmers, phone crime is ‘more akin to assault’
Read the full article05 February 2025
Trump’s bullying tactics
Eventually, when a bully has got out of control and he’s made enough enemies, he may find the roles of bully and bullied reversed
Read the full article29 January 2025
Don Cupitt, the priest who didn’t believe in God
Despite once being a practising clergyman, the late Cupitt was noted for his radical ideas on ‘non-realist’ philosophy of religion
Read the full article22 January 2025
What would George Orwell think of Facebook?
On the 75th anniversary of the author’s death, some of his most famous words read as a warning
Read the full article15 January 2025
How to survive a near death experience
These experiences, however, are far from conclusive evidence of life after death
Read the full article08 January 2025
Do humans need to hibernate?
The Oxford-based sleep scientist Vladyslav Vyazovskiy believes so, but it would just make life blander
Read the full article01 January 2025
The poisonous message behind capital punishment
How could anyone believe that it is right to murder someone else to make a political point?
Read the full article18 December 2024
How to enjoy your Christmas dinner
For anyone who cares about animal suffering, it should be a no-brainer that eating intensively farmed turkey is unethical
Read the full article11 December 2024
How to stop brain rot
Oxford University Press’s word of the year suggests social media has become a drug-like distraction from the world
Read the full article04 December 2024
Has Notre Dame lost too much?
The success of Notre Dame's comeback depends on whether we view it as an architectural gem or a functional religious building
Read the full article27 November 2024
James Beattie and his timeless cello
The forgotten Scottish philosopher’s legacy resurfaced last week when his historic cello was played for the first time in 220 years
Read the full article20 November 2024
How to believe in politics
It is time to dispel disbelief and face the grim reality that is unfolding
Read the full article13 November 2024
Ayn Rand's part in Donald Trump's victory
If Trump sees himself as a Randian hero, expect nothing but indifferent self-interest for the next four years
Read the full article07 November 2024
Everyday Philosophy: The Peter Singer chatbot
The philosoper’s ethical legacy lives on in the form of a bot – but its hectoring, evangelical tone means it is far from convincing
Read the full article30 October 2024
Can you stop the flow of time?
According to Henri Bergson, everything is flux and that's difficult to capture in words
Read the full article23 October 2024
Plato's warning to American democracy
Even if the US doesn’t slide towards tyranny on November 5, almost half the electorate are going to end up disgruntled
Read the full article09 October 2024
Melania Trump and the right to choose
Is her forthcoming memoir’s defence of abortion an indication that Republicans won’t be so hardline on this issue if elected?
Read the full article02 October 2024
Tradition shouldn't outweigh animal cruelty
Arguments for trail hunting merely come from wishful thinking motivated by a romanticised view of country life
Read the full article25 September 2024
For philosophers, everyone's a critic
Some thinkers treat critical thinking as a martial art, wanting to win the argument at any cost
Read the full article18 September 2024
Michel de Montaigne, Donald Trump and the problem of cats
Cats, Montaigne would've been relieved to know, are not on the menu in Springfield
Read the full article11 September 2024
We can't avoid autumn
If you’re lucky, it can be the most beautiful season of all
Read the full article04 September 2024
The philosophy behind Starmer's smoking ban
Many of us are hoping the prime minister's policy doesn't stray from pragmatic to heavy-handed
Read the full article28 August 2024
On Alain Delon's dog
In somewhat grandiose fashion, the film star imagined his dog Loubo couldn’t continue to flourish in a world that no longer included him
Read the full article21 August 2024
Everyday philosophy: Could Elon Musk learn from Stonehenge?
In 5,000 years’ time, will people marvel at the accomplishments achieved today?
Read the full article07 August 2024
Can we solve the problem of evil?
Is free will worth the price of unspeakable acts of violence?
Read the full article31 July 2024
Do chatbots deserve moral rights?
The time may come where they’re viewed as fellow workers, treated with respect and consideration
Read the full article24 July 2024
Here comes a paradigm shift
American philosopher Thomas Kuhn's controversial thinking turned normal science on its head
Read the full article17 July 2024
How to know when to step down
The disappointing reality is that the American people won’t vote Joe Biden back into office – not being Trump won’t be enough
Read the full article10 July 2024
Who is the father of modern conservatism?
If the remnants of the Conservative Party are searching for inspiration, they should not look to Edmund Burke
Read the full article