philopapers

Amee LaTour argues we should sometimes welcome being run aground by life. What do you want out of life? Happiness? Comfort? Security? Like many philosophers associated with existentialism, Martin Heidegger emphasizes the potential fruitfulness of varieties of experience quite contrary to these states, such as the discomfort and insecurity of becoming stranded. When we’re stranded, […]

Colin Wilson explores the more provocative side of existentialism. In the following essay I propose to argue that Husserl’s phenomenology has been radically misunderstood by the majority of those who consider themselves his followers, particularly Sartre, and that the problem lies in their failure to grasp what Husserl meant by ‘intentionality’. Intentionality should not be

Daniel Hill argues that without God, life would be meaningless. What is the meaning of ‘the meaning of life’? In analytic philosophy the bearers of meaning have usually been considered to be words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. Hence life itself is not usually considered to be a bearer of meaning, but the word ‘life’ is.

Terrence Thomson asks what Kant’s concept of history can teach us. In philosophy departments across the world, Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (1781), as well as his prominent moral works, such as the Critique of Practical Reason, are analysed, discussed, and often despaired over by students and scholars alike. His ‘critical philosophy’ has even

Michael Squire scrutinises Hegel’s historical ideas about aesthetics. Mention the name ‘Hegel’ among art historians, and you’ll likely be met with a blank expression, or else with fear and trepidation. Love him or loathe him, Hegel has proven to be one of the most influential thinkers of Western academe. But working in an age before

Matt Qvortrup observes the watcher of the world spirit. No philosopher has been more influential in the modern age than Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831). He has inspired individuals as diverse as Karl Marx, Francis Fukuyama, and, latterly, the football manager Jose Mourinho. “Have you ever read Hegel?” the former Manchester United boss asked a

Alex Gooch on narrative, meaning, and the failure of philosophy. What kind of life is the philosophical life? Is it, as Socrates proclaimed, the best life? Or is the philosophical life even capable of being a genuinely meaningful life? In this article, I will give an account of the philosophical life following two very disreputable

Dan Corjescu says soma could be coming. Imagine if you will a government which provides its citizens with comfortable housing, and two special daily pills, free of charge. The first pill contains all our daily nutritional requirements, while the second pill guarantees a sense of happiness and contentment throughout the day and night. My question

Lewis Vaughn asks what it’s all about. After tragedy and heartbreak – after the war is lost, after the pandemic takes someone you love, after climate change destroys your home, after your life seems to be rendered nonsensical by illness, personal failure, or injustice – deep questions may linger like a bruise: What is the

Brian King says that life’s meaning is a question of purpose; but what is the purpose of human existence? In the expression ‘the meaning of life’, people more often than not mean ‘purpose’ when they refer to ‘meaning’. The real question such people are asking is actually ‘What is the purpose of life?’. Things which