Self determination – or delusion?

The debate over whether humans have free will is a long-standing and complex issue in philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience. Do we really have free will – and therefore moral responsibility for our actions – or are our choices shaped our genetic makeup and social influences in ways that put them out of our control?

Political bees and talking pigs

The differences and similarities between humans and (other) animals fascinated ancient philosophers and story tellers, and are still a point of scientific and moral contention today.

The Visionaries

“The Visionaries” tells the story of four indomitable women who pursued their their own visions of a truly free and open society at a time of brutal authoritarianism and cataclysmic war.

Learning how to live

We all have feelings and questions about the meaning and purpose of our lives, and it is not as simple as picking a side between the Aristotelians, the existentialists, or any of the other moral traditions.

Faith in the age of reason

Born 400 years ago, philosopher Blaise Pascal was one of the first philosophers to grapple with the role of faith in an age of science and reason

Opening the black box

Everyone’s jumping on the AI bandwagon so modern philosophers are taking a leaf out of the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy to ape Vroomfondel and Majikthise of the Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Sages, Luminaries and Other Thinking Persons and insert themselves into the debate.

Hegel at Heidelberg

There has been much excitement in academic circles over the discovery of a treasure trove of notes from the lectures given by the great German idealist philosopher G.W.F. Hegel.

Socrates the great

Although he never wrote a word on paper, the Oracle of Delphi declared Socrates the wisest of all human beings and his life and death has shaped the history of Western thought.

Mark Nicol’s Counterpoint – The new intellectual pedigree – The school of the fourth age

Dropping any pretence of academic rigour, social science has been turned into a tool of social progressives, and a new philosophy exploring man’s place in nature is required.

Counterpoint by Mark Nicol – Human history versus human cultural evolution

Western academies of social scientists have comprehensively failed to produce rational accounts of moral or philosophical perspective in response to the ecological crisis facing the world today.

Counterpoint by Mark Nicol – A vision of hope: The church of native divinity

The disciplined practise of rational science has given modern man technological domination of the planet, but it may take a new reverence for life itself for our species to ensure a sustainable future.

Counterpoint by Mark Nicol – The human predicament – Towards a holistic solution

Reconciling the wisdom of religion, philosophy and science in pursuit of a sustainable future is no easy task, but stripping the illusions we comfort ourselves with can at least help us squarely face the challenges ahead.