Institute of Art and Ideas

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Rizzle Kicks star and author Jordan Stephens found fame young and has spoken about the pressures of performing a version of himself to the world. https://bit.ly/4ipWQCV Joined by Sarah Wilson, he asks whether a true self exists beneath the performance, or whether we are only ever the roles we play.

We think that substance dualism separates the mind from the body in an irreconcilable way. | https://bit.ly/4zRmCqP Professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto Tarek Dika argues this misses a crucial part of Descartes' philosophy, namely that the mind and body are fundamentally united.

In East of Eden, Steinbeck instructs us to exercise our free will, and put an end to cycles of violence. But there is little explicit argument for how this is possible. https://bit.ly/4AavvvZ Noah Lazarides argues that the answer is hidden in the form of the novel itself: the retelling of myth.

Is the law a safeguard of democracy, or a weapon that can undermine it? https://iai.tv/video/freedom-democracy-and-the-law Lawyer Philippe Sands, former MI6 officer Christopher Steele, political scientist Marlène Laruelle, and philosopher and politician James Orr debate.

Some argue that consciousness could emerge in AI systems. https://bit.ly/4ihTTnZ Here, philosopher and Lead for Responsible AI at Microsoft Ken Archer, and phenomenologist Harald Wiltsche, argue that the attempt to reduce consciousness to a mechanism won't work and relies on a misunderstanding.

Biology has sequenced the human genome and predicted protein structures, yet consciousness remains elusive. https://bit.ly/4shQ5HH Join mathematical biologist, Denis Noble, as he calls out biology's biggest blunder: the self replicating process of DNA and RNA are not perfect.

Elected leaders often promise to rein in unelected officials. But philosopher Sandy Berkovski argues this is a fantasy. https://bit.ly/3WEoAfJ Real control has to come from officials checking each other, whilst the electorate can exercise their freedom to choose one bureaucracy over another.

We’re often urged to tolerate difference. https://bit.ly/4z4hsaY But philosopher Hamedeh Rastaei warns that tolerance by itself is dangerously unstable. Instead, we should recognise the deep metaphysical truth that the identity of our self depends on the difference of others.

Should we have more faith in the human and less trust in nature? https://iai.tv/video/nature-friend-or-foe Tap here to watch world-famous intellectual Yuval Noah Harari and firebrand philosopher Slavoj Žižek debate whether nature is friend or foe.

After the world wars, there was widespread agreement in the West: national interest should bow to universal rights and the equality of all peoples. https://bit.ly/4zEMhTF But Tongdong Bai argues that the belief that human beings can love and care about everybody equally is a fantasy psychology.

For philosopher Gigla Gonashvili, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is not a film about artificial intelligence but something older and stranger. https://bit.ly/4i1RhdC Humanity is defined not by the film's famous empathy test, but by a sense of shared mortality.

The US spends nearly 20% of its GDP on health and publishes 3 million biomedical papers a year. So why is life expectancy stalling, or perhaps even falling? https://bit.ly/4hLigLJ In this interview, John Ioannidis lays bare the crisis, and suggests ways we might begin to fix it.

We tend to think of art and science as two entirely separate domains. But Sheila Atim argues they share the same DNA. https://bit.ly/3Upck1Z Atim explores how different creative "rooms" change form but circle the same enduring questions.

Probability alone can’t tell us how risky something is. https://bit.ly/4e4r2Ca Duncan Pritchard argues that we should instead measure risk in terms of fragility – how easily a catastrophe could occur. We have to learn to make high risk decisions in our lives.

Most see 9/11 conspiracies as an aberration in political life. But Andrew McKenzie-McHarg argues that there’s nothing surprising here. https://bit.ly/4hRpNaw Through investigating the genealogy of conspiracy theories, he argues that we can come closer to understanding when to take them seriously.

The winners of wars are the quickest to innovate, the fastest to reach technological milestones. And now this dynamic is driving the race in AI. https://bit.ly/4y51KuR Here, Andy Owen argues that we must slow down technological progress; the race is not worth the risk.

Conscious beings stand in sharp contrast to mere things. They are something over and above their body and brain. https://bit.ly/4yx4dzd Join philosopher Martine Nida-Rümelin as she argues for her distinctive subject-body dualism, which is not obscurantist but a demand for intellectual honesty.

An MIT study found that using AI leaves us more ignorant, yet more certain of our own arguments. https://bit.ly/4y1TbRv Here, researcher and author Minh-Hoang Nguyen argues this is a new kind of brain rot: a literal degradation of our ability to think, and a new form of intellectual cowardice.

How well can we really tell a reasonable belief from a ridiculous one? https://bit.ly/3TBmwUR Stephen Law, Director of Philosophy at The Department for Continuing Education at the University of Oxford, argues once we're too invested to be wrong, we explain away every inconvenient fact.

Is string theory doomed? https://iai.tv/video/the-trouble-with-string-theory Join Nobel prize-winning physicist Roger Penrose, renowned string theorist Brian Greene, groundbreaking scientist Tasneem Zehra Husain, and polymath mathematician Eric Weinstein to debate the cosmological theory.

In this article, Sam Shpall makes the case that the notion of "falling in love" isn't just an imprecise idea, but a hazardous one. https://bit.ly/47wuGB8 Buried inside it is a forgotten concept called 'limerence': an involuntary, obsessive craving for reciprocation, distinct from romantic love.

President Xi Jinping has repeatedly said China will "never seek hegemony, expansion, or a sphere of influence." Nonetheless, Western academics like John Mearsheimer continue to argue China will seek to become a regional hegemon. https://bit.ly/4zb14VB Professor Astrid Nordin argues both are true.

Reason was supposedly an Enlightenment gift that freed us from blind adherence to tradition. But many now contend this is a comforting myth. | https://bit.ly/43haeSA Dan Sperber, Steve Fuller, and Miriam Schoenfield debate whether we should pursue reason or abandon it.

Evolution has long been understood as random genetic changes occurring. But current research is revealing a messier reality. https://bit.ly/4xTPs8E Denis Noble, Eva Jablonka, and Samir Okasha debate whether evolution is a blind process, or whether we should see life as actively shaping itself.

We assume theories need experimental proof to be credible. | https://bit.ly/4dzrGrv But philosopher of science Richard Dawid argues that empirical confirmation isn't the only path to scientific credence, and that string theory has earned trust through a different route: meta-empirical assessment.

Liberal democracy once appeared to be a self-sustaining machine, but in recent years it has proved increasingly fragile. https://bit.ly/4rIzooT Historian and politician Michael Ignatieff explores whether liberalism still has the intellectual and moral resources to sustain and defend itself.

Brutal wars, torturous executions, and violent revolutions have always been justified on moral grounds. https://bit.ly/3VXAS2q Drawing on wisdom from Wittgenstein to Zhuangzi, philosopher Hans-Georg Moeller argues that trying to be moral often only does more harm than good.

We tend to think of Stoicism as a philosophy of passive resignation, but Massimo Pigliucci argues true agency requires recognising both the limits of our power and knowledge. https://bit.ly/4diCjhb For Pigliucci, the Stoic dichotomy of control equips us to combat systemic issues.

I have just published this piece for the Institute of Art and Ideas. It summarizes a part of my research agenda on countering illiberalism in liberal democracies. Thanks to the IAI for hosting it.⬇️ iai.tv/articles/the...

The paradox of Schrödinger's cat still baffles physicists a century into quantum mechanics. | https://bit.ly/4eZJOvI But Nadia Blackshaw proposes the “many worlds” interpretation is wrong, and we should instead pursue the possibility of “many minds”.

Liberal democracies around the world are under threat, and Giovanni Capoccia argues that there’s a paradox that prevents efforts to defend them. https://bit.ly/4ylseJv Illiberal movements are easiest to stop early, but propaganda and subtle erosion prevent democratic forces from acting quickly.

We often describe distraction as a failure of focus, but what if it is also a crisis of meaning? https://bit.ly/47pk5rA Drawing on decades of research, Gloria Mark explores how our cognitive, emotional, and social capacities are being reshaped by environments that never allow the mind to rest.

Timothy Jackson argues reality is not governed by fixed laws, but that fundamental reality is in fact a lawless flux, a chaos of unpredictable change. https://bit.ly/4d3rAZ9 The “laws” of physics are not eternal truths but descriptions of patterns that have persisted long enough to look permanent.

In this article, Michel Bitbol counters Antony Valentini’s recent argument that quantum mechanics is a straightforward description of material reality. https://bit.ly/47mUWhe He instead proposes quantum mechanics is a tool for predicting our “creation” of our own experiences and ideas of reality.

The rise of populism has been lauded as the defeat of neoliberalism. So what does the new world that is struggling to be born look like? https://bit.ly/422Xj6q Join Wendy Brown to discuss how antidemocratic politics intertwine with neoliberal economics to create today's political climate.

The oldest problem of democracy is how do we come to agreement about the 'facts'. | https://bit.ly/3VbgAT2 We now live in a world where scientists are unable to agree on the nature of reality, and a decline of the institutions meant to keep them in check.

While the goal of liberalism is to bring freedom to all, some argue that it is in fact universalist, prescriptive, and obstructive to alternatives. https://bit.ly/4tmb8YQ In this debate, Curtis Yarvin, Yascha Mounk, and Minna Salami debate whether liberalism is a failed experiment.

Is forgetting a flaw in the human brain, or an invaluable asset? | https://bit.ly/48tBYqq Neuroscientist Oliver Hardt argues that forgetting is crucial for some of the most important parts of our brain function. It isn’t a flaw of human memory, but an incredibly useful part of its design.

AI could lead to mass social upheaval, but given that it supports some jobs whilst undermining others, it’s unlikely that a united front will form. https://bit.ly/4h9MIyT Carlos Felipe Balcazar argues this will further concentrate economic and political power in the hands of the top income earners.

The Vienna Circle tried to turn ethics and politics into science, while Wittgenstein recoiled at this idea. F.P. Ramsey argued they were both wrong. https://bit.ly/3Vv0iUV Cheryl Misak @MisakCheryl and David Edmonds discuss why these issues are more pressing today than ever.

Despite a widespread European decline in church attendance, surveys show young Westerners are more drawn to mysticism than their grandparents. | https://bit.ly/4t3Ol3G Will the future be one where we see a return to an open acceptance of mysticism and spirituality?

To get anything done in politics, it seems clear that activists need to win power first. https://bit.ly/4xIA8vo But in an increasingly complex and divided society, Sophie Scott-Brown argues the disorganized methods of fringe campaign groups are surprisingly effective at achieving political change.

From the Big Bang to the nature of consciousness, our core scientific assumptions frame how we understand reality. But what if the very foundations of our theories are flawed? | https://bit.ly/3OEPRv4 Nobel Prize Laureate Roger Penrose joins science communicator Brian Cox in this interview.

We often assume that our memories are stored in our brains, just like a hard drive stores data. https://bit.ly/4AfiMbS In this talk, philosopher Victoria Trumbull argues this is a radical mistake: she argues that the brain enables memory without containing it, and that time itself stores memory.

One of Britain’s most provocative thinkers, John Gray is a political philosopher famous for dismantling liberalism and exposing the illusions of human progress. https://bit.ly/463JPcr In this conversation with Hilary Lawson, Gray argues the real purpose of philosophy is disruption, not conversion.

Jessica West claims there is a ‘fog of peace’ allowing military build-up in space and threatening to spread to the moon. | https://bit.ly/3QMx3dT If the satellites we rely on to detect missile launches and communicate in crises are disrupted, this could have catastrophic consequences.

Is spacetime real, or does it dissolve under scrutiny? | https://iai.tv/articles/spacetime-does-not-exist-auid-3555 Philosopher Sam Baron argues that the idea of spacetime "emerging" from quantum reality is circular, leading to the radical conclusion that Einstein's spacetime does not exist.

Shakespeare is often hailed as the ultimate master of words, yet his plays often return to the moments where language fails. https://bit.ly/4cEUlLo Simon Palfrey argues Shakespeare purposefully pushed language to its breaking point to show that our deepest experiences cannot be put into words.

Time, we are told by most physicists, does not truly flow; its apparent passage is dismissed as a human illusion. https://bit.ly/3UTJkPZ Join creator of the Elitzur–Vaidman bomb tester, quantum physicist Avshalom Elitzur, as he challenges that orthodoxy.

small group of philosophers has been assembling a radical alternative picture. | https://bit.ly/4wY0gC5 Philosopher and logician Samuele Iaquinto introduces Fragmentalism, a view on which spacetime is not a single, coherent whole, but rather a patchwork of incompatible perspectives.