Karl Marx, part 7: The psychology of alienation
Peter Thompson: For Marx, rules are imposed not merely by repression but by the gradual inculcation of values
Karl Marx, part 6: The economics of power
Peter Thompson: Marx is often accused of reducing humans to mere expendable specks of matter within the greater economic scheme of things
Britain’s intellectuals: leading thinkers have their say
Ten celebrated thinkers offer their thoughts on Britain's relationship with its intelligentsia
Why don’t we love our intellectuals?
While France celebrates its intelligentsia, you have to go back to Orwell and Huxley to find British intellectuals at the heart of national public debate. Why did we stop caring about ideas? When did 'braininess' become a laughing matter?
The Social Animal and the science of human nature
Madeleine Bunting: David Brooks's new book makes bold claims that the 'scientific revolution' will humanise our culture. I'm not so sure
Karl Marx, part 4: ‘Workers of the world, unite!’
Peter Thompson: The main point of the Communist Manifesto is that capitalism creates the conditions for its own downfall
Karl Marx, part 3: Men make their own history
Peter Thompson: For Marx, there are no iron laws, history is formed by the relationship between the material forces and social relations of production
Religion is not really about ethics
Harriet Baber: As a compendium of moral doctrine the Bible doesn't come off well. Its relevance lies in its teaching of the nature of God
Spinoza, part 8: Reading the Ethics
Clare Carlisle: In this final instalment, how the Ethics is not just a philosophical treatise, but also a training manual for a philosophical way of life
Spinoza, part 7: On the ethics of the self
Clare Carlisle: For Spinoza the main hurdle to virtue isn't egoism but ignorance of our true nature – by being selfish we can in fact help others
Spinoza, part 6: Understanding the emotions
Clare Carlisle: By understanding our emotions, whether positive or negative, we gain in power and therefore happiness, argues Spinoza
On Ash Wednesday, consider the gift of death
Mark Vernon: The ultimate limitations imposed upon us by our mortality do not dissolve meaning. Quite the opposite, in fact
Spinoza, part 5: On human nature
Clare Carlisle: We are not autonomous individuals but part of a greater whole, says Spinoza, and there is no such thing as human free will
Spinoza, part 4: All there is, is God
Clare Carlisle: Being infinite and eternal, God has no boundaries, argues Spinoza, and everything in the world must exist within this God
Spinoza, part 3: What God is not
Clare Carlisle: In his Ethics, Spinoza wanted to liberate readers from the dangers of ascribing human traits to God