Philosophy & Psychology
Je Suis Mill
This is an edited extract from a dinner speech to the Liberal Club of the University of Melbourne, delivered on …
Why we trust experts – even when they admit they don’t know the answer
We constantly make decisions about who to trust. Much of the time we’re bombarded with massive amounts of information on …
Are we a failed species?
A very old friend and longtime mentor of mine, now 85 years of age, recently expressed the gloomy opinion that …
A review of Eckhart Tolle’s ‘A New Earth’
The philosophical/spiritual writer Eckhart Tolle has had success beyond most writers’ wildest dreams. His first book, The Power of Now, …
When faith and reality collide in pandemics
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Afro-Eurasia from 1346-53. It is …
Four reasons why you should never say ‘do your research’ to win the argument
It’s fairly common to see many claims or arguments end with a curt “do your research”. In some ways, it’s …
Suicide as catastrophe and as calculation
The August 2021 issue of Harper’s magazine has a cover story headed ‘What are the odds? The Troubled Quest to …
When beliefs become deadly
After five years of working for the Joint Counter Terrorism Team, where I was consumed by the persistent and genuine …
On dying
Philosophy begins with the death of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. But, as we know, he goes to his death with …
The lost notebooks: Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan’s extraordinary story
Srinivasa Ramanujan’s story is one of the great romantic tales of mathematics. It is an account of triumph and tragedy, …
‘Living well’ and having a ‘good life’
Ronald Dworkin On 14 February 2013 one of the foremost legal, moral and political philosophers of the past several decades Professor Ronald Dworkin died (he …
Seneca’s classical wisdom on how to die
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was one of the more notable Roman philosophers. He was born in 4 BCE, which happens to …