Review of Susan Buck-Morss, Year One: A Philosophical RecountingNasrin Olla Philosophers of the enlightenment such as Rousseau, Kant and Hegel imagined their projects as universal in reach and scale. Whether these philosophers were writing about the social contract, the foundations of moral law or the progression of spirit, the idea that the whole world could […]
Frames of modernity Read More »
Review of Dipesh Chakrabarty, Climate of History in a Planetary AgeRegan Burles The bright red time ball atop Flamsteed House at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich rises halfway up its mast each day at 12:55 p.m., to the top of the mast at 12:58 p.m., and drops suddenly to the bottom at exactly 1:00 p.m.
Review of Willem Styfhals, No Spiritual Investment in the WorldDaniel Fraser Willem Styfhals’ new book offers a conceptual history of Gnosticism within a deceptively narrow discursive field. Though Gnosticism re-emerged and become a relatively widespread term in German thought from the end of the nineteenth century onwards, gaining particular prominence in the interwar period, Styfhals
Review of Oxana Timofeeva, Solar Politics Isabel Jacobs Since Antiquity, the sun has been tied up with earthly and divine authority. The solar god Sūrya, a Hindu deity, was worshipped in sun temples across India. In the fourth century, under Roman Emperor Julian’s rule, the ancient Helios, like Sūrya depicted with a radiant crown and
Review of Paul K. Jones, Critical Theory and Demagogic Populism Mike Makin-Waite Although there is now a massive literature on the right-wing populisms that have reshaped politics over recent decades, debates continue as to whether we have really understood these movements, and the nature of their parties and leaders. Two new books consider how the
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Nikhil Krishnan’s intriguing and charming history, A Terribly Serious Adventure: Philosophy at Oxford 1900-60, is organised around anecdotes rather than arguments. Krishnan is interested not only in “what people thought but what they were like”. The two questions are not as separate as many assume: a penetrating portrait of a philosopher can do much to illuminate
In an apostolic letter released on June 19, 2023, Pope Francis praised the “brilliant and inquisitive mind” of the influential French philosopher Blaise Pascal, born on that date 400 years ago. When Pascal lived, at the height of the 17th century’s scientific revolution, rapid advances were taking place in all areas of science. Pascal’s significant accomplishments
Earlier this month, scientists at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health announced they had successfully grown “humanised” kidneys inside pig embryos. The scientists genetically altered the embryos to remove their ability to grow a kidney, then injected them with human stem cells. The embryos were then implanted into a sow and allowed to develop for up
By any reckoning, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) is one of the most influential Western philosophers in history. No account of the modern era – not just modern thought – could ignore him. Few courses in political or social theory would think to omit him. It is therefore worth coming to grips with his thought and its
Explainer: the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau is profoundly contemporary Read More »
In March, the ABC aired a story showing footage of pigs in Australian abattoirs being stunned with carbon dioxide before having their throats cut. Packed into small, gas-filled chambers, these animals could be viewed writhing, gasping and screaming in distress, some foaming at the mouth. The pigs’ suffering was not an aberration; it is what countless pigs around the