Topic: Philosophy

Karl Marx: 10 great quotes on his birthday

May 5 marks the birthday of Karl Marx, who provided intellectual foundation for an array of regimes that at one time governed nearly half of Earth's population.

10 best self-help books of all time

From Benjamin Franklin to Norman Vincent Pearle to Stephen Covey, here are 10 of the best self-help books ever written.

What Heinrich Rudolf Hertz taught us about nothingness

Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, who was honored Wednesday on his 155th birthday, helped explain how even nothing at all can be something.  

Jeffrey Eugenides talks about 'The Marriage Plot' and pokes fun at literary theorists

Jeffrey Eugenides talks about his novels – and themes of death, suicide, and Detroit.

Social justice is not necessarily justice

Social justice is not universal justice, because it requires that rights be given to one person ant the expense of another

Rebecca Newberger Goldstein: secular humanist with a soul

Philosopher and novelist Rebecca Newberger Goldstein is a humanist whose life and work have been shaped by religion.

Political misquotes: The 10 most famous things never actually said

Did Sarah Palin really say that she could see Russia from her house? Did Marie Antoinette really say 'Let them eat cake?' Learn the true story behind 10 of the most widely believed – but completely bogus – quotations misattributed to political figures.

It depends on what the meaning of 'here' is

A look at 'indexicals' – words whose meanings shift with the user's perspective.

Arizona shooting suspect Jared Loughner: 5 of his strange ideas

Jared Lee Loughner is accused of killing six people and wounding 14 in Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday. Here’s a look at five ideas believed to come from Loughner, in his words and those of the people who know him.

Five of world's biggest tsunamis

The Japan tsunami was relatively small in size and deadliness compared to those on record. The following five are among the worst in recorded history.

Did the ancient Greeks spot Halley's Comet?

Halley's Comet visited our inner solar system in 466 BC, where it was probably viewed by ancient Greek skywatchers.

Calling all Cartesians

Readers, respond: Did Descartes ever argue that all useful human institutions are products of "conscious reason"?

Goldman Sachs rationalized fraud

Goldman Sachs missed a big moral problem: Just because something isn’t technically illegal doesn’t mean it’s right.

Breakfast with Socrates

An Oxford don turned management consultant shows how your most mundane moments are grounded in philosophy.

Classic review: The Metaphysical Club

Louis Menand's fascinating history profiles a group of misfit geniuses who, in Boston in 1872, helped to shape the modern mind.

Who is Anita Dunn?

Anita Dunn escalated the Obama administration's feud with Fox News. But aside from her peculiar statement about Mao Zedong, not much is known about her outside the Beltway.

The White House’s ‘ironic’ Mao moment? Glenn Beck doesn’t get it.

You just knew the Anita Dunn-Glenn Beck feud would involve Socrates and Seinfeld, didn't you?

A twitter tour of Western philosophy

What if Socrates, Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, and Hume had been able to tweet their thoughts?

Why Socrates Died

An original and thought-provoking examination of the trial and execution of Socrates.

The emptiness of Obama's pragmatism

Policy devoid of clear ethical theory creates a nation without principle, and a nation without principle is a nation on stilts.

Sophie's World

Obama, Joe the plumber, and the gospel of envy

A call to 'spread the wealth' around is an old – and dangerous – theme.

Nature Loves to Hide

Pascal's Wager: The Man Who Played Dice with God