Ways to go beyond: Why spiritual journeys draw non-religious people Did pilgrimage go out of fashion or did it simply take on a new form? Join biologist and psychic phenomena researcher Rupert Sheldrake as he analyses the history of pilgrimage, going all the way from its ancient roots in religious ceremony to its modern incarnation of tourism. Rupe…

Are you ready to discover the true meaning of Christmas? Join the team at the IAI for three Christmas-themed articles, written by James Mahon, Tim O'Keefe, and the IAI editorial team. In this present, you'll find a scathing analysis of the Santa Claus lie, an Epicurean reflection on holiday traditions, and musings about Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsc…

In search of oneself Should we see self-knowledge as an aim not only misguided, but actively dangerous? Is self-knowledge in fact impossible for as Nietzsche argued we have to use the self to uncover the self? Or is self-reflection a vital and rewarding activity that uncovers meaning and improves our ability to act well in the world? Joanna Kavenna…

Thinking set free Look for part 1 of this episode from earlier this week! Join our panel of speakers (consciousness researcher Stuart Hameroff, evolutionary critic Subrena Smith, and psychologist Paul Bloom) as they explore the limits of rationality, while still defending its importance to how we think and live in the world. Do visit our website fo…

Thinking set free Is the emphasis our modern society places on rationality well-placed? Does rationality help us think or should we be in tune with other ways of thinking/perceiving the world? Join our diverse panel of speakers as they discuss these questions: Stuart Hameroff, anesthesiologist known for the theory of consciousness he developed with…

Can morality be objective? Whether or not moral ideas can be objectively true has divided philosophers for centuries. But can we ever find moral truths? How would we find them? And what can these truths tell us about the world? In this challenging interview, Peter Singer defends his turn to objectivity and argues morality doesn't need religion, tha…

What can African philosophers teach us about history, the modern world, and the good life? And can their ideas and teachings cross cultural boundaries? Join the IAI team for a reading of three articles about African philosophy, written by professor of communication Omedi Ochieng and professor of political theory Katrin Flikschuh. From the apparent …

Land, ownership and hypocrisy with Peter Singer, Dale Turner, Tommy J. Curry and Janne Teller Since Magna Carta, the right to property is seen as universal, yet this principle often favours the strong. While nations like Ukraine are supported in reclaiming invaded land, Indigenous peoples in North America—who lost 99% of their land after European i…

Philosophy at the end of the world Is humanity looking at its demise in the face? Has it always been? And how can philosophy help us? Join philosopher Ben Ware, Co-Director of the Centre for Philosophy and Art at King’s College London, as he interrogates how to philosophically, and humanly, confront the end of the world. Ware traces the idea of ext…

The metaphysics of naturalism - PART TWO Have we completely abandoned the idea of the supernatural? Could there still be important truths that lie outside of the natural world? Join philosopher Fiona Ellis as she explains her version of naturalism, arguing that there is still some middle ground to be found between the world of the natural and the r…

The metaphysics of naturalism - PART ONE Have we completely abandoned the idea of the supernatural? Could there still be important truths that lie outside of the natural world? Join philosopher Fiona Ellis as she explains her version of naturalism, arguing that there is still some middle ground to be found between the world of the natural and the r…

Consciousness predates life Did consciousness exist before life? Could such a counter-intuitive idea, in fact, be the answer to the hard problem of consciousness? Join anaesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff as he puts forward his theory that consciousness came before the origin of life on Earth, using quantum mechanics and his research with Sir Roger Pe…

Why do audiences across the world love to be scared at the cinema? Why do we have such strong attachments to those who have left this Earth? What can horror tell us about ourselves? Join the team at the IAI for a reading of three Halloween-themed articles, written by historian Thomas Laqueur, and philosophers Noël Carroll and David Livingstone Smit…

Our human shadow Many have had the experience of an urge to do something wrong just for the hell of it. From walking on grass we're told to keep off to fantasies of violence towards someone we find a minor annoyance. Join Yale psychologist Paul Bloom as he invites us to see the clever, creative and beautiful side of our impulses toward evil. Paul B…

In search of ourselves Is the 'self' a useful category, philosophically, psychologically, in our everyday lives? What might it help us do? And where do we find ourselves? Join our mixed panel of speakers as they approach this question from their different points of view - Australian philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers, English explor…

Mind, matter, and everything - PART TWO Can science ever solve the problem of consciousness? Do our methods look for answers in all the wrong places? Join Sean Carroll, Ellen Langer, and Tamar Gendler as they debate the possibility of science providing answers to the hardest problem of all - the problem of subjective experience. Jack Symes hosts. S…

Are we sliding towards our own extinction? How can we find hope amidst the despair of the modern world? Join philosopher Ben Ware as he analyzes the various apocalyptic narratives that have existed throughout history, dissecting everything from antinatalism to the romantic poets. Ben is Co-Director of the Centre for Philosophy and Art at King’s Col…