Welcome to Philosophy Now
the bi-monthly magazine for everyone interested in ideas. Published since 1991, it was the winner of the 2016 Bertrand Russell Society Award. Please look around! You can read four articles free per month. To have complete access to the thousands of philosophy articles on this site
Interview
Samuel Grove
Samuel Grove recently published Retrieving Darwin’s Revolutionary Idea: The Reluctant Radical. In commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of The Descent of Man (1871), Roberto Navarrete sat down with him to discuss the philosophical dilemmas Darwin faced in applying his theory of natural selection to human beings.
Happiness & Meaning
Looking for the Purpose of Life
Brian King says that life’s meaning is a question of purpose; but what is the purpose of human existence?
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Why You’re (Probably) Wrong About The Meaning of Life
Lewis Vaughn asks what it’s all about.
What Is Happiness?
Gary Cox asks, ‘is happiness a cigar called Hamlet?’, and other searching questions.
The Happy State
Dan Corjescu says soma could be coming.
Regulars
Editorial: Happiness & Meaning
by Rick Lewis
News: December 2021 / January 2022
The fault is not in our stars but in our genes • Trans rights and academic freedom • Moral dilemma? Ask a chatbot — News reports by Anja Steinbauer
Articles
Huygens: A Scientist Among the Philosophers
Hugh Aldersey-Williams traces the philosophical connections of a polymath.
What Is Guilt?
Farah Abdessamad wonders if it is a function of responsibility.
Hegel Reading Heraclitus
Antonis Chaliakopoulos offers an intro to Heraclitus, and to Hegel, via each other.
Exploring Time
Nurana Rajabova looks for a way of seeing time as if from the outside.
Can Eating Meat Be Justified?
Each answer below wins a book. Apologies to the entrants not included.
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Benedict de Spinoza (1632-1677)
Brad Rappaport expresses the essential attributes of the prophet of pantheism.
Columns
Philosophy Shorts: Philosophers on Laughter
by Matt Qvortrup
Tallis in Wonderland: From Dust to Dust
Raymond Tallis on a lifetime of cleaning.
Philosophy Then: Living the Good Life
Peter Adamson ponders the ancient ethics of happiness.
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Philosophical Haiku: Philo of Alexandria (c.20BCE-c.50CE)
by Terence Green
Reviews
On Philosophy and Philosophers: Unpublished papers, 1960-2000 by Richard Rorty
Daniel C. Dennett on the Richard Rorty Factor.
An Event, Perhaps: A Biography of Jacques Derrida by Peter Salmon
Omar Sabbagh on a biography of Jacques Derrida.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft
Sara Bizarro reviews a classic: Mary Wollstonecraft’s pioneering Vindication of the Rights of Woman.
Minding the Gap
Dylan Skurka on a film that suggests it’s possible to choose to overcome your upbringing.
Fiction
Friday Nights
by Peter Read
