Olivia Goldhill

Last month, I came face to face with death. The deathly face in question belonged to the great utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham, who died in 1832. His preserved head, considered so gruesome that it was hidden from public display for the past 40 years, looks like decaying leather—not unlike how your head will one day look, before it eventually decomposes into nothing at all.

Loneliness feels like a personal problem. “It feels shameful and alarming,” writes Olivia Laing in her semi-autobiographical study of loneliness, The Lonely City. “Over time these feelings radiate outwards, making the lonely person increasingly isolated, increasingly estranged.”

In the wake of allegations against Harvey Weinstein, countless organizations have hastily insisted they have a “zero tolerance” policy on sexual harassment.  “Employers must adopt a zero-tolerance policy and sack the perpetrators, however valuable to the business,” wrote solicitor Camilla Palmer in The Guardian.

Judging from Shakespeare, the very sight of a modest woman pushes men into extravagant fantasies of matrimony. “I burn, I pine, I perish,” cries Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew, “If I achieve not this young modest girl.”

Two types of people are incredibly passionate about astrology: Those who love it, and those who love to hate it.

It has been exactly a year since the election of US president Donald Trump on Nov. 8, 2016, and graphs showing the level of positivity people get from their family friends reveal one very clear trend over the past 365 days: Down.

Men have sexually assaulted and harassed women with impunity for millennia. Incredibly, ever since the allegations against Hollywood impresario Harvey Weinstein stopped being an “open secret,” a few famous men have finally faced repercussions for their actions. Where inept courts and HR departments have failed, a new tactic has succeeded: Women talking publicly about harassment on social media, fueling the public condemnation that’s forced men from their jobs and destroyed their reputations.

Jeff McMahan is an Oxford moral philosopher and vegetarian of almost 50 years. He still doesn’t know if it’s wrong to eat meat.

Driverless cars sound great in theory. They have the potential to save lives, because humans are erratic, distracted, and often bad drivers. Once the technology is perfected, machines will be far better at driving safely.

The emotional impact of serious trauma tends to ripple across family and friendship groups. Those directly affected (the person who’s seriously ill or caught up in a natural disaster, for example), their loved ones, and closest friends all experience suffering. And when an entire social network is consumed by misery, it can be difficult to know whom to turn to.

Houston, Texas, has been transformed into a disaster zone, with 38 people dead from the tumultuous impact of Hurricane Harvey this week and the city submerged in 50 inches of water.

Many people concerned about climate change assume that eventually, the growing weight of facts will persuade those who dismiss humans’ role in the problem to think again. Surely, the theory goes, the plentiful evidence will eventually make any naysayer understand the severity of the situation.

Developmental psychologist Alison Gopnik has published countless studies in prestigious journals. Her work covers how children are more open-minded than adults (and often learn better, as a result), and how they approach the world (in much the same way as scientists). Each finding is significant on its own but, collectively, says Gopnik, she’s working towards solving “the biggest, deepest question in philosophy.” 

Seeking out the perfect therapist can feel as significant and difficult as finding a romantic partner. A study on the effectiveness of trained therapists versus self-help treatment, though, suggests that therapists are not as important as they seem.

At some point, everyone reaches a crossroads in life: Do you decide to take that job and move to a new country, or stay put? Should you become a parent, or continue your life unencumbered by the needs of children?

In the 1960s, intellectuals such as Aldous Huxley were fascinated by the effects of LSD, but today most professors are far too worried about respectability and tenure to investigate psychedelics themselves. Which is somewhat ironic, given that the field of Western philosophy has a huge debt to psychedelics, according to Peter Sjöstedt-H, a philosophy doctoral candidate at University of Exeter who has written a book on the philosophical significance of drugs. In fact, one of Plato’s most-cited theories may have been a direct result of hallucinogenics.

When you’re walking to work, waiting for the elevator, or making painful small talk with an acquaintance, a buzz from your phone can provide a thrilling little distraction. It’s a call for attention, an excuse to break from your immediate surroundings and check your phone immediately.

Whether or not octopuses should be viewed as charming or terrifying very much depends on your personal perspective. But it’s hard to deny their intelligence.

Neuroticism won’t make life more enjoyable, but it can help it last longer, according to a four-year study published this month in Psychological Science.

Exceptionally wealthy people aren’t a likeable demographic, but they have an easy way to boost personal appeal: Become an exceptionally wealthy philanthropist. When the rich use their money to support a good cause, we’re compelled to compliment their generosity and praise their selfless work.

The United States is not a humble country. Despite widespread voter suppression tactics and a criminal justice system that imprisons a higher percentage of black people than South Africa did during apartheid, Americans have a disconcerting tendency to insist that they live in the greatest democracy in the world.

For much of history, the only way to chronicle life was to write about it. Now, many of us take selfies on our smartphones to share on Facebook, and create picturesque albums of our daily meals on Instagram. And as the mediums we use to recall and review the past change, so do our very memories.

Empathy, in general, has an excellent reputation. But it leads us to make terrible decisions, according to Paul Bloom, psychology professor at Yale and author of Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion. In fact, he argues, we would be far more moral if we had no empathy at all.

Thousands of people around the world have excitedly made a forceful political point with a well-honed and witty tweet. All it takes is 140 characters to make a pithy argument, and man it feels good to get a few retweets.