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Class & Inequality, Philosophy & Religion

A More Perfect Meritocracy

Two new books take aim at the moral failures of meritocracy. But we can advocate for a more just society without giving up on merit.

Agnes Callard

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Philosophy & Religion

Philosophy & Religion

The Unfinished Project of Enlightenment

In a sweeping new history of Western philosophy, Jürgen Habermas narrates the progress of humanity through the unfolding of public reason.

Brandon Bloch

Law & Justice, Philosophy & Religion

Rights in a Pandemic

The COVID-19 crisis creates a conflict not between individual rights and the community, but rather between individual rights themselves—including, above all, the right to health.

Attila Mraz

Philosophy & Religion, Science & Nature

From Pandemic Facts to Pandemic Policies

The debate over pandemic response is not only about the facts—including the grim death toll. It's also about the relationship between science and decision-making, where values inevitably play a role.

Jonathan Fuller

Philosophy & Religion

The Tragedy of Costs and Benefits

In the fight against COVID-19, weighing costs and benefits is indispensable for moral clarity. At the same time, we must not forget its limits.

Roberto Tallarita

Forum

The Philosophy of Anger

There are two problems with anger: it is morally corrupting, and it is completely correct. 

Agnes Callard

Philosophy & Religion

Ethics at a Distance

We may feel individually powerless to contribute to social transformation. But each of us bears responsibility for helping to create a more just world.

Vafa Ghazavi

Philosophy & Religion

Dying in Jerusalem

Unlike most places in the world where people get buried where they lived, for over two millennia people have traveled from far and wide to die in Jerusalem. But now the city is running out of graves, and against the backdrop of the Israel–Palestine conflict, burial is often a political matter.

Etan Nechin

Philosophy & Religion, Science & Nature

The Robots Are Coming

In the overhyped age of deep learning, rumors of thinking robots are greatly exaggerated. Still, we cannot leave decisions about even this sort of AI in the hands of those who stand to profit from its use.

Kenneth A. Taylor

Philosophy & Religion

The Weakness of the Furies

Victim anger can be useful to the political struggle, but it can also become excessive and obsessive, deforming the self.

Martha C. Nussbaum

Philosophy & Religion, Science & Nature

Science Hasn't Refuted Free Will

A growing chorus says that science has shown free will to be an illusion. But it actually has offered arguments in its favor.

Christian List

Philosophy & Religion

The Radical Equality of Lives

Judith Butler talks with Brandon M. Terry about MLK, the grievability of black lives, and how to defend nonviolence today. 

Brandon M. Terry, Judith Butler

Philosophy & Religion

From the Editors: On Anger

Our new issue explores anger in its many forms—public and private, personal and political—raising an issue that we must grapple with: Does the vast well of public anger compromise us all?

Joshua Cohen, Deborah Chasman

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