How real is this real world? In the film ‘The Truman Show’ Truman Burbank lives in the peaceful town of Seahaven. What Truman does not know is that Seahaven exists inside an artificial biosphere from which a live TV show is broadcast 24 hours a day. Everyone in the town except Truman is an actor. Read More
We talk of truth, but what do we mean by truth? Felipe Fernandes-Armesto has suggested that there are four kinds of truth, The truth you feel. The truth you are told. The truth of reason. The truth you perceive through your senses.
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To ask whether a society is just is to ask how it distributes the things we prize – income and wealth, duties and rights, powers and opportunities, offices and honours. Read More
Why is the purpose of morality? There appear to be three answers to this question. To lead people to behave in accordance with the wishes of a divine authority. To lead people to behave in a way that benefits society at large. To lead people to control their desires and aversions, resulting in a more satisfying, rewarding and contented way of life. Read More
It is generally accepted by scholars that there was a historical Buddha who died sometime between 500 BCE and 400 BCE. After his death his teachings were transmitted orally, probably only being written down for the first time a hundred and fifty years later.
In these circumstances can we know what the Buddha taught? Read More
Human rights serve to safeguard the individual and provide them with the necessary freedoms to have a self-fulfilling life. However, there are many aspects of human rights that are problematical, and in practice their application can have unwanted and unintended consequences. Read More
Buddhism has forked and diversified into a myriad of schools and traditions, so that it is misleading to talk of a single Buddhist philosophy. However, it is possible to isolate a set of core teachings that constitute a coherent and unified system of thought. Read More
Judgements about The Prince tend to be of two types: judgements about Machiavelli’s intentions in writing it, and judgements about the work itself. Read More