Institute of Art and Ideas
Changing how the world thinks. Home to the big ideas and leading thinkers of our time. Subscribe here: iai.tv/subscribe
Host of HowTheLightGetsIn Festival 💡
- “For Smith, progress involved both the development of markets and social measures to improve the conditions of the working classes,” argues Alexandra Digby. | iai.tv/articles/ada... Tap to read more about how Smith’s work inspired socialists and radical political reformers. #socsky #polsky
- Global capitalism has defined the past century and has reshaped our lives with the development of influential technological innovations. | iai.tv/video/capita... Join former Finance Minister of Iraq, Ali Allawi, as he argues the global economic framework has begun to prevent development. #econsky
- “Though the changes in complexity may be small, we have seen that similarly small changes in other neuroimaging measures have a massive effect on subjective experience,” argues David Nutt. | iai.tv/articles/dav... #consky #philsky
- Philosopher William Egginton argues that black holes aren’t cosmic oddities—they’re cracks in our idea of reality. | iai.tv/articles/bla... Singularities lurking in Einstein’s equations are echoes of the paradoxes of the ancient philosopher Zeno. #philsky #philsci ⚛️ 🧪
- “Once we find ourselves in the moral domain, the truth that unites us is about what we all have in common and what we equally share with others: the dignity of humanity,” writes Whiston. Tap to read more. | iai.tv/articles/pur... #medsky #socsky
- Do we misunderstand mindfulness? | iai.tv/video/the-mi... Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer advocates for rejecting materialism, arguing that mindfulness research offers a more consistent and scientifically grounded perspective. #psychsky
- The impossibility of spacetime singularities, the bizarre behaviour of black holes, and dark matter are all puzzling cosmological problems. | iai.tv/articles/new... Phillip B. Levin argues that a new model where black holes have no singularity can solve all of these problems. #philsci ⚛️ 🧪
- Some argue that with the US-China tariff deal now in place, this is a victory for Trump. But Rana Mitter warns this isn't necessarily the case. | iai.tv/articles/tru... While the deal may have shifted trade dynamics, relations in both Europe and Asia have been further strained. #polsky
- “A signature feature of quantum mysticism is its misappropriation of physics terminology in a wider, every-day context,” argues physicist Philip Moriarty. | iai.tv/articles/qua... How has quantum-inspired mystical claims has led to the rise of pseudoscience and misinformation. #philsci ⚛️ 🧪
- Modern medicine has been spectacularly successful. But can we really claim to understand disease and health? | iai.tv/video/medici... John Ioannidis, @ginarippon.bsky.social , and Bessel van der Kolk debate whether we truly know what health and illness are. Hosted by Claudia Canavan. #medsky
- The psychoanalyst Carl Jung created, or discovered, the notion of the collective unconscious almost a century ago. | iai.tv/articles/the... Sharif Abdunnur explores how in the modern world the internet is creating a new, collective unconsciousness. #consky #techsky
- “Truth is not manufactured out of preference; it is discovered in the labor of life,” writes philosopher John Kaag. | iai.tv/articles/rus... Russell claimed American pragmatists didn't see truth as a correspondence to reality. But here Kaag argues they offered a more sophisticated view. #philsky
- “Eros as the ‘desire and pursuit of the whole’ neatly encapsulates the philosophical life,” writes Sam Woodward. | iai.tv/articles/phi... In this article, Woodwood argues we need to reclaim the potential of Eros, so that we might learn from Plato’s erotic framework. Tap to read. #philsky
- “Languages present the world as being in different ways depending on what kinds of meanings their expressions have,” argues Matti Eklund. | iai.tv/articles/the... Eklund questions how the potential existence of extra-terrestrial species could undermine our metaphysical framework. #philsci 🧪
- Most of us assume reality is made up of physical matter. But is there a danger that the very idea of an ultimate foundation to reality is a profound mistake? | iai.tv/video/turtle... Join Priya Natarajan, Donald Hoffman, and Hilary Lawson to crack the foundation to the universe. #philsky ⚛️ 🧪
- Conversations about the state have typically excluded those with seemingly the most right to be in those conversations - indigenous voices. | iai.tv/video/the-la... Dale Turner as he argues that we must reconcile Western and indigenous world-views to bring about a new conversation on stolen land.
- “We need to prevent and limit communication that is inaccurate or false, that slanders, defrauds, or deceives, whether or not it can be shown to harm in each particular case,” argues Onora O’Neill. | iai.tv/articles/the... #techsky #socsky #polsky
- “No one ever loses a truly philosophical argument: this was Socrates’s most radical teaching,” argues Professor Mark Lilla. | iai.tv/articles/emo... In this article, Lilla argues that to counter the unpleasantness of being wrong, we must make reasoned debate emotionally rewarding. #philsky
- “I am absolutely committed to the idea that if we do not purge String Theory culture and Quantum Gravity culture, and get back to collegiality, self-critique, that this field will die,” argues Eric Weinstein. | iai.tv/articles/eri... #philsky ⚛️ 🧪
- Most people think the world consists of various distinctions ranging from fire and water to protons and electrons. But Heinrich Päs disagrees. | iai.tv/articles/qua... Quantum physics revives the idea of universal oneness that Christianity unjustly excluded from our culture. #philsci ⚛️ 🧪
- Is there such think as a truly selfless act? Nietzsche was known for criticising altruism as a display of weakness. | iai.tv/articles/nie... However, Guy Elgat argues that if you are going to pursue a selfish life, you should make sure your goals, and your self, are worth it. #philsky
- What is real in our fundamental physical theories? | iai.tv/articles/spa... Philosopher of science, John D. Norton, argues answers lie in Einstein’s “hole argument.” The events of spacetime don’t form a “substance,” something with independent existence to other things in the world. #philsci 🧪 ⚛️
- We are well aware by now of the observer problem in quantum mechanics. Human subjectivity appears to play a key role in the results of quantum experiments. | iai.tv/articles/mat... However, the observer problem reaches far beyond just quantum mechanics, argues Edward Frenkel. #philsci ⚛️ 🧪
- Since the sixties, fun has been linked to 'sex, drugs, and rock and roll' — but growing evidence suggests we've forgotten how to enjoy ourselves, putting our pleasure in life at risk. | iai.tv/video/the-es... Join Myriam François, James Tartaglia, and Freya India to debate. #socsky
- “Dark matter was invented in response to the problem that observations of galaxies didn’t match theoretical predictions,” argues Bjorn Ekeberg. | iai.tv/articles/the... Ekeberg believes that the universe is a lot stranger than we can imagine. #philsky ⚛️ 🧪
- Most people would agree that the perfect job would include something that’s low stress and well-paid. However, evidence suggests otherwise. | iai.tv/articles/how... William MacAskill argues that often the best predictors of job satisfaction are features of the job itself. #socsky
- Three centuries after Newton's fixed laws, science now faces a new frontier, argue biochemist Stuart Kauffman and computer scientist Andrea Roli. | iai.tv/articles/bio... The biosphere is not a clockwork mechanism but a self-creating, unpredictable system. #biosky #philsci 🧪
- “The paintings seek to ‘unlock sensation’, to provoke a convulsive, existential shudder in those who encounter them,” writes Ben Ware on Francis Bacon’s art. | iai.tv/articles/dis... Ware argues that decay and extinction bleeds into a philosophical view of Bacon’s art that heightens his genius.
- @frankfukuyama.bsky.social famously argued liberal democracy had emerged as the final form of government. | iai.tv/video/franci... Join Fukuyama for this exclusive interview as he reveals whether he still stands by his famous argument in light of recent events. #trump #USPolitics #polsky
- We have come to think depression is a medical problem that has a medical solution. | iai.tv/video/the-mi... Rose Cartwright reveals the failures of the medical model of mental health and proposes radical new methods for healing including psychedelics and emotional catharsis. #medsky #psychsky
- The idea of a world government is often associated with the risk of global tyranny, but could it be more desirable than we initially assume? | iai.tv/articles/the... Mathias Koenig-Archibugi argues that a single world government may be more plausible and desirable. #polsky
- Pedro Tabenksy draws on theorists of rebellion Fanon and Camus, to warn that all rebels risk becoming the tyrants that they claim to resist if they adopt a cold, utilitarian ethics. | iai.tv/articles/all... Rebellion must be tempered by regret, even when violence is necessary. #philsky
- “Factual statements are rarely value-neutral. Even simple factual statements involve a whole range of social conventions and norms,” argues Professor Fabienne Peter. | iai.tv/articles/the... #polsky
- Many claim ours is a new era of the so-called ‘strongman’, where zero-sum, realist, competitive politics and culture rules the day. | iai.tv/articles/coo... Manuel Delaflor argues this will be the final act of the worldview based on competition and ‘might is right’. #polsky #socsky
- Rupert Sheldrake explores the unspoken dogmas of science alongside Hilary Lawson in this exclusive interview. | iai.tv/video/rupert... Labelled a heretic, he continues to ask one radical question: what if the universe remembers? #philsci 🧪 #consky #philsky
- Are all personalities morally equal? | iai.tv/articles/cha... Andrea Lavazza and Mirko Farina would disagree, arguing that we all have an ethical obligation to improve our personalities. #psychsky
- Multiple studies now point towards the idea that animals have language and speak to each other, sometimes in great detail. | iai.tv/articles/lio... Eva Meijer, argues we should include animals and other species as political actors, with voices, in a democratic community. #polsky #ecosky
- Can consciousness be solved by science? | iai.tv/video/mind-m... Join as Sean Carroll, Ellen Langer, and Tamar Gendler discuss if consciousness can ever be explained materialistically, or if materialism can be extended to account for thought and experience. #philsky #consky #philsci 🧪
- The received view in physics is that the direction of time is provided by the second law of thermodynamics, according to which the passage of time is measured by ever-increasing disorder in the universe. | iai.tv/articles/tim... This view, Julian Barbour argues, is wrong. #philsky ⚛️ 🧪
- Earth is home to a huge story that is rarely told - that of our ocean. What it does, why it works, and how it's influenced human civilisation. | iai.tv/video/how-oc... Join @helenczerski.bsky.social as she argues that the ocean is an extraordinary engine on which we all depend. 🧪
- “Effective Altruism is a movement born of the conviction that the high priests in our modern cathedrals will use their wisdom to improve the lives of all sentient creatures,” writes Jonathan Anomaly. | iai.tv/articles/eff... #philsky
- "It is undeniable that nature can be destructive and uncontrollable, but its destruction sometimes helps bring back the balance of the earth,” believes Edward McDougall. | iai.tv/articles/shi... Tap the link to read more about how we can use philosophy to reconnect with nature. #socsky
- “A better tack is not to try to kill relativism, but to draw its teeth. Relativism thrives when people do not have to shoulder the burden of actually coming to a conclusion,” argues Simon Blackburn. Tap to read more about his argument against relativism: iai.tv/articles/aga... #philsky
- We live in a world where our attention is constantly being pulled in multiple directions. | iai.tv/articles/dis... @doctorcochrane.bsky.social argues that we should reclaim such experiences by exploring philosophical ideas that underpin flow. #psychsky
- Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological philosophy suggests the search for the self and consciousness need not be focused on the space within our skulls. | iai.tv/articles/mer... Ron McClamrock believes that instead we should turn our attention to the lived body. Tap to read. #philsky
- What does beauty have to do with science? | iai.tv/articles/jam... @milenaivanova.bsky.social argues that science does in fact use beauty to trigger feelings of awe and wonder, but beauty can also be a guide to scientific discovery. #philsci ⚛️ 🧪
- “Bodies are judged according to standards that reflect and reinforce other hierarchies,” argues @profclarechambers.bsky.social | iai.tv/articles/the... By being more aware of society’s beauty standards we can remind ourselves that the unmodified body is valuable just as it is. #socsky
- In light of Meta recently ditching fact-checking on Facebook in a drive for ‘free speech’, many of us might be questioning the role of fact-checking online. | iai.tv/video/fact-c... Join Paul Mason, Stephanie Hare, and Freddie Sayers debate the facts behind the facts. #socsky
- Contemporary life is defined by excess, we always want more and there never seems to be enough. | iai.tv/video/surplu... Join trailblazing philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, as he argues the joys of excess are futile and asks if we can ever find a way out. #philsky #socsky
- Liberals have long trusted the “marketplace of ideas” to deliver truth through reason. But what if that’s a myth? | iai.tv/articles/the... Charlie Barnett argues it’s time liberalism embraced the irrational and messy parts of life.
