Issues
Issue 146: October/November 2021
EDITORIAL
Reality Check
by Rick Lewis
NEWS
News: October/November 2021
New translation of all Plato’s dialogues • Heideggerian hacker claims moral stance • Passing of a prominent French thinker — News reports by Anja Steinbauer
REALITY
Get Real
Paul Doolan reveals that the real problem with ‘the real world’ is knowing what ‘real’ really means.
Against Direct Realism
Paul Griffiths argues that modern metaphysics is taking a wrong turn.
Coronavirus, Correlation & Causation
Martin Jenkins uses the virus to test our knowledge of causation.
Buddhist Metaphysics
Brian Morris describes four varieties of Buddhist metaphysics, and questions whether they can form one coherent system of thought.
Is Mathematics in the Fabric of the Universe?
Adrian Brockless unravels the threads.
So You Think There are Laws in Nature?
Eleni Angelou eavesdrops on a conversation between a Believer and a Sceptic.
ARTICLES
The Philosophy of Japanese Gardens
Sailee Khurjekar says that size matters when it comes to horticulture.
Liberal Individualism & Cultural Decay
Raymond D. Boisvert considers how the first leads to the second.
Expanding the Original Position to Animals
Matthew Chalmers applies the political philosophy of John Rawls to creatures great and small.
Against Veganism
Chris Belshaw makes the case for rearing animals for their meat and produce.
Moral Philosophy & Being Good
Charlie White asks, what’s the purpose of moral philosophy? Can it take us to a good place?
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Hilarius Bogbinder discovers the surprisingly revolutionary views of one of the Catholic Church”s most revered philosophers.
INTERVIEWS
Terry Pinkard
Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University in Washington DC, helps Amirali Maleki dispel some popular misconceptions about G.W.F. Hegel’s political thought.
LETTERS
Letters
Existential Epistles • Responsibility Reviewed • Modern Moral Positions • Dancing Around Lyotard • Protesting About Protesting • Art & Morality Don’t Mix • Fun With Values
COLUMNS
A.J. Ayer (1910-1989)
by Terence Green
Philosophers on Marriage
by Matt Qvortrup
Mind Without Matter
Peter Adamson traces ancient arguments against materialism.
Cogitating in Cambridge
Seán Moran takes a punt on reality.
On Making and Keeping Appointments
Raymond Tallis introduces post-tensed time.
REVIEWS
Time of the Magicians by Wolfram Eilenberger
This issue we travel back in time in Germany, as Leonid Bilmes uses words and symbols to consider the words and symbols of four famous ‘Weimar magicians’.
All Things are Nothing To Me by Jacob Blumenfeld
Douglas Groothuis thinks nothing of Max Stirner’s nihilism.
‘We’re All Just Rats in Mazes’
Jarid Goodman watches rats negotiate the maze of popular culture.
CARTOONS
Mike Shiell’s Cartoon
by Mike Shiell
Phil Witte’s Cartoon
by Phil Witte
Steve Delmonte’s Cartoon
by Steve Delmonte
Simon & Finn
by Melissa Felder
Guto Dias’ Cartoon
by Guto Dias
Ron Coleman’s Cartoon
by Ron Coleman
FICTION
The Parable of Aladdina
Michael Langford says you should be careful what you ask from a genie, or you might get lamped.
Categories & Their Discontents
by Steven E. Clayman
Pascal’s Carriage
by Peter Abbs