Menu
Aeon
DonateNewsletter
SIGN IN

Philosophy

Essays and videos on philosophy, the history of ideas, ethics and life’s big questions
Save

essay

Wellbeing

Learning to be happier

In order to help improve my students’ mental health, I offered a course on the science of happiness. It worked – but why?

Bruce Hood

Save

video

Biography and memoir

The unique life philosophy of Abdi, born in Somalia, living in the Netherlands

29 minutes

Save

video

Meaning and the good life

Why strive? Stephen Fry reads Nick Cave’s letter on the threat of computed creativity

5 minutes

Save

video

Beauty and aesthetics

The grit of cacti and the drumbeat of time shape a sculptor’s life philosophy

11 minutes

A close-up shot of one woman holding and comforting another grief-stricken woman
Save

essay

Ageing and death

Witness the pain

When loved ones are traumatically lost, bereaved families become accidental activists by turning grief into grievance

Chris Bobel

A shirtless man in jeans lies sleeping beside his 1970s era car on the sandy beach
Save

essay

Work

Disengage

Modern life subjects us to all-consuming demands. That’s why we should reflect on what it means to step away from it all

David J Siegel

Save

essay

Cognition and intelligence

Are you an artistic genius?

Maybe not, but if that’s the threshold you use for creativity in your life, you are coming at the problem all wrong

James C Kaufman

Save

video

Death

Even in modern secular societies, belief in an afterlife persists. Why?

9 minutes

Save

video

Spirituality

Trek alongside spiritual pilgrims on a treacherous journey across Pakistan

6 minutes

Save

essay

Work

Freedom at work

There is always a demand for more jobs. But what makes a job good? For that, Immanuel Kant has an answer

Tyler Re

Save

video

Meaning and the good life

The world turns vivid, strange and philosophical for one plane crash survivor

16 minutes

Save

essay

Stories and literature

Solace and saudade

In the face of an inscrutable, indifferent universe, Pessoa suggests we cultivate a certain longing for the elusive horizon

Jonardon Ganeri & Sarah Seymour

Save

essay

Philosophy of religion

A new paganism

Now is the time to revitalise our relationship with nature and immerse ourselves in the little wonders of the universe

Ed Simon

Save

video

Meaning and the good life

Why Aristotle believed that philosophy was humanity’s highest purpose

9 minutes

Save

essay

Comparative philosophy

How to become wise

Practice is at the heart of Korean philosophy. In order to lead a good life, hone your daily rituals of self-cultivation

Kevin Cawley

Save

essay

Beauty and aesthetics

Attuned to the aesthetic

The ultimate value of the world can be discovered if you are sensitive to what is beautiful

Tom Cochrane

Save

essay

Meaning and the good life

You’re astonishing!

Life can be better appreciated when you remember how wonderfully and frighteningly unlikely it is that you exist at all

Timm Triplett

Save

essay

Virtues and vices

Look on the dark side

We must keep the flame of pessimism burning: it is a virtue for our deeply troubled times, when crude optimism is a vice

Mara van der Lugt

Save

essay

Travel

The end of travel

Driven by the need for a storied life, I relished the opportunity for endless travel. Is that a moment in time, now over?

Henry Wismayer

Save

video

Meaning and the good life

To know or not to know? Lillian weighs the costs of a life-changing genetic test

10 minutes

Save

video

Meaning and the good life

Albert Camus built a philosophy of humanity on a foundation of absurdity

6 minutes

Save

essay

Love and friendship

Treasure them

Sure, lovers and children are great. But friends are more than ever the heart of happiness, of family and of love itself

Anna Machin

Save

essay

Meaning and the good life

Authenticity is a sham

From monks to existentialists and hipsters, the search for a true self has been a centuries-long project. Should we give it up?

Alexander Stern

Save

video

Meaning and the good life

Amid the chaos of being, Nietzsche believed that plants offer us inspiration for living

8 minutes