The Best Articles in Philosophy
The most useful articles and videos in Philosophy from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Philosophy Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved in Philosophy by Refind users in 2023 so far.
- Learning from people who I disagree with
- Life Is Hard. And That’s Good
- How to Live on 24 Hours a Day: Arnold Bennett on Living a Meaningful Life
- Bruce Lee's Profound Philosophy of Life: 7 Mind-Shifting Insights That Will Awaken Your Inner Warrior
- Bonhoeffer's "theory of stupidity": We have more to fear from stupid people than evil ones
Videos
Watch a video to get a quick overview.
The Boltzmann brain paradox
How do you know you’re a person who has lived your life, rather than a just-formed brain full of artificial memories, momentarily hallucinating a reality that doesn’t actually exist? That may sound absurd, but it’s kept several generations of top cosmologists up at night. They call it: the Boltzmann brain paradox. Fabio Pacucci explores this mind-numbing thought experiment.
4,844 People Agree With Me, 574 Disagree
For decades, the Sleeping Beauty Problem has divided people between two answers. Head to https://brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial, an...
Does free will violate the laws of physics?
Sean Carroll: We might solve free will one day. But here’s why I doubt it.Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQECJukTDE2i6...
Stoicism: Turn suffering into unshakeable inner strength
Chloé Valdary shares the ancient Stoic principle that can defeat modern despair.Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQECJuk...
How To Cope With The Shortness Of Life
Dean Rickles is Professor of History and Philosophy of Modern Physics at the University of Sydney and a Director of the Sydney Centre for Time.Life doesn't l...
What is ...?
New to Philosophy? These articles make an excellent introduction.
Our innate ideas prevent us seeing what is innate in human nature
We have a great deal of trouble telling what is innate and what is learned in human nature, whether ideas or emotions
The hardest question ever asked: What is truth?
Scientists believe they have the answer, but philosophers prove them wrong.
«An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748), David Hume argues that inductive logic is unjustified. Inductive logic is the process of making observations and then drawing larger conclusions from limited data»
15 of the Best Philosophy Books for Beginners
From classic texts to modern philosophy books for beginners, these are the best philosophy books to fill your shelves with.
What is philosophy?
Professor Jonardon Ganeri FBA explains the meanings and uses of philosophy, from the ancient world to the present day.
«To do philosophy nowadays is to attend to the ways things are by attending to the concepts according to which we understand them.»
Philosophy of Happiness
INTRO Here’s a short introduction to some of the most fascinating philosophical issues about happiness. We are going to look at three...
How to ...?
How to Live on 24 Hours a Day: Arnold Bennett on Living a Meaningful Life
Arnold Bennett’s How to Live on 24 Hours a Day explores a meaningful life by addressing the age-old question: how can we make the best use of our time?
«What you learn today becomes the scaffolding to solving tomorrow’s problem.»
How to Change a World: The Radical Russian Prince Turned Anarchist and Pioneering Scientist Peter Kropotkin’s Advice…
“Courage, devotion, the spirit of sacrifice, are as contagious as cowardice, submission, and panic.”
How to Beat Procrastination Like a Stoic Philosopher
Seven tactics from the ancient world that have stood the test of time
How to fulfil the need for transcendence after the death of God
The modern world is disenchanted. God remains dead. But our need for transcendence lives on. How should we fulfil it?
How to create space for ethics in AI
We can't wait for tech regulation and competition reform to ensure ethical AI. We need to move forward now.
Trending
These links are currently making the rounds in Philosophy on Refind.
Why am I not terrified of AI?
Every week now, it seems, events on the ground make a fresh mockery of those who confidently assert what AI will never be able to do, or won’t do for centuries if ever, or is incoherent even …
Hannah Arendt and the Loss of a Common World
The practice of exercising judgment requires that very common sense upon which a common world is based.
The Ultimate Stoic Daily Routine
Learn how to structure your day to maximize your Stoic practice and develop more courage, wisdom, and compassion.
Out of John Locke’s shadow: Damaris Masham and her philosophy
Were it not for her friendship with John Locke, the radical feminist gems of philosopher Damaris Masham might be unknown
This Is a Philosopher on Drugs
I was at the lowest point in my life. I needed a mind-altering jolt. In the end, everything—even the meaning of “everything”—changed.
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles in Philosophy—all under 10 minutes.
Bonhoeffer's "theory of stupidity": We have more to fear from stupid people than evil ones
Bonhoeffer's "theory of stupidity" posits that we have more to fear from stupidity than evil. The latter is easier to defeat than the former.
«onhoeffer’s argument is that the more someone becomes part of the establishment, the less an individual they become»
Living for Pleasure by Emily A Austin
A timely guide to the Greek philosopher – and rival to the Stoics – who saw freedom from anxiety as the ultimate goal
«Unnatural and unnecessary desires, such as for wealth, power, fame or eternal life, are considered “corrosive”, to be avoided like the plague.»
Justifying Optimism
What was the happiest day of your life? The documentary How to Live Forever asks that innocent question to a centenarian who offered an amazing response. “Armistice Day,” she said, referring to the…
«Hope often masquerades as optimism when you think things will improve only because the alternative is too scary to contemplate.»
Don’t Treat Your Life as a Project
Fight the tendency to see your life as a narrative journey.
«To see one’s life as a narrative arc, heading for a climax that it may or may not reach, is to see it as a potential failure; but one need not live that way.»
Learning from people who I disagree with
Why talking with people whose views you hate can help you (and, maybe, them)
«omber. He had done a fair bit of research and made some initial contacts with the men who could arrange his travel and equipment. He was deciding between his options: sneak over th»
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles in Philosophy.
Life Is Hard. And That’s Good
When the going gets tough, the tough get philosophical.
«The right perspective in which to think about grief is that it is a manifestation of persisting love,”»
How Awe Can Change Our Lives For The Better
A new field of psychology has begun to quantify an age-old intuition: Feeling awe is good for us.
«Francis Bacon, described wonder as “broken knowledge” — a facet of the human condition, in other words, that defied his scientific method»
Deep Time Sickness
In Mexico, people who are “tocado” — “touched” — reveal that geological time can emerge through fissures in the land to alter the way we relate to our homes, cities and even ourselves.
Good Grief
Fortunate is the person who has reached the age of 50 without having had to grieve. To be among the grieving, the bereaved, is an experience most of us go through, excepting only those who die…
Bruce Lee's Profound Philosophy of Life: 7 Mind-Shifting Insights That Will Awaken Your Inner Warrior
Other than the martial arts badass that he was (and he’s mostly known for), he was also a philosophy badass.
«Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.”»
Thought Leaders
We monitor hundreds of thought leaders, influencers, and newsletters in Philosophy, including:
Tim Ferriss
Author of 5 #1 NYT/WSJ bestsellers, early-stage investor (http://angel.co/tim), Tim Ferriss Show podcast (900M+ downloads), founder of http://saiseifoundation.org

PhilosophyFoundation
We are an award winning charity that brings philosophy to schools, business and the public sphere. Thinking changes.
Aeon+Psyche
Aeon is a magazine of ideas and culture. Psyche is our sister magazine focused on the human condition. Visit http://aeon.co and http://psyche.co for more.
Five Books
Five Books is a library of knowledge, curating book recommendations on any topic. Experts recommend the five best books in their subject. http://fivebooks.com
Philosophy Now
The newsstand magazine for everyone interested in ideas. https://philosophynow.org/shop
Publications
We monitor hundreds of publications, blogs, newsletters, and news sources in Philosophy, including:
Aeon+Psyche
Aeon is a magazine of ideas and culture. Psyche is our sister magazine focused on the human condition. Visit http://aeon.co and http://psyche.co for more.
Big Think
Learn from the world’s greatest thinkers. Join us on https://www.youtube.com/c/bigthink.
Institute of Art and Ideas
Bringing you the ideas that matter. Subscribe here: https://iai.tv/subscribe Hosts the philosophy and music @HTLGIFestival: https://howthelightgetsin.org/
Daily Nous / Justin Weinberg
News for & about the philosophy profession, edited by Justin Weinberg, philosopher at the U. of South Carolina. Also on Mastodon: @DailyNous@zirk.us
Existential Comics
A philosophy webcomic about the inevitable anguish of living a brief life in an absurd world. Also jokes. https://www.patreon.com/ExistentialComics
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