In 1975, Australian philosopher Peter Singer asked a deceptively simple question of animals: ‘Can they suffer?’ The implications launched a revolution in our thinking about animal rights and food ethics. But has animal suffering diminished in the fifty years since?

This essay critiques the moral and strategic failure of foreign-imposed regime change in Iran, arguing that such interventions paradoxically reinforce the Islamic Republic's legitimacy rooted in anti-imperialism. Drawing on post-colonial theory and historical precedent, Dabbagh and Hassan call for “solidaristic non-imperialism”: supporting grassroots Iranian movements without replicating imperialist dynamics that undermine authentic agency and indigenous democratic change.

Sandro Brito Rojas argues that, for Marx, ideology is a false consciousness that obscures the true nature of social relations, particularly the alienation caused by the division between mental and material labor. Rojas highlights that Marx’s critique of ideology is not just intellectual but calls for revolutionary action. Ideology is a consequence of social contradictions, not their root cause. To overcome ideological distortions, a material transformation of society is neces

John Lysaker explores the many forms and values of friendship. He explores friendship as a lived interaction and examines the various goods it provides, such as recognition, growth, and care. Rather than ranking friendships, Lysaker argues for their diversity, showing how even imperfect or partial bonds enrich our lives and help shape who we become. He concludes, "Friendships prove better when they multiply and differentiate and so check our limits and metabolise our varied p

Roddy Brett explores the haunting legacy of enforced disappearance as a tool of political violence, particularly in Latin America. He examines the psychological and societal impacts on the families of the disappeared, delving into their daily rituals of hope and despair. By analyzing the intersection of state terror, genocide, and the denial of bodies, he calls for a deeper understanding of the human dimensions of disappearance and a more critical engagement with this crime a

In this evocative essay, Terrell Carver explores the disturbing power of political violence, memory, and absence. He examines how violence typically communicates through visibility and how disappearance as a strategy upends that logic. Focusing on Argentina’s “disappeared” and the symbolic resonance of everyday memorials like the baldosas por la memoria, Carver asks: How can we know and relate to the violence we haven't seen? How do we remember what was meant to be erased?

The debate between prison reformists and prison abolitionists is raw and heavily politicised. This increases the risk of each side in the debate speaking past each other or criticising straw man versions of their opponents’ arguments. In this conversation with Andy West, criminologist Jason Warr offers an even-handed assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of both positions, along with some reflections on the morality of punishment.

Is it wrong to value humans above all else? In this provocative essay, Christopher Belshaw explores the limits of anthropocentrism, weighing our moral duties to other creatures and the natural world. He argues that while extreme human-centered thinking is flawed, our unique moral agency brings special responsibilities. We shouldn’t dominate nature, but nor should we deny our moral role as custodians. He presents a nuanced defense of human significance without giving into supe

Critical race theory (CRT) is based on the premises of pervasive racial inequality and a social constructionist (i.e. anti-essentialist) conception of race. It challenges the idea that the superficially colorblind nature of the law means the law is race-neutral. Amongst other things, critics of CRT have argued that it is an anti-scientific research program. But are these claims correct? To what extent have these pseudoscientific claims played a role in fomenting the backlash

Much of the current misinformation crisis seems to derive from misplaced trust. In this conversation, C. Thi Nguyen discusses his idea of “hostile epistemology”, which examines how environmental factors exploit our cognitive vulnerabilities. As finite beings with limited cognitive resources, we constantly reason in a rush due to overwhelming information, leaving gaps that can be exploited. Given this, how can individuals with limited understanding determine which group to tru

Is science getting at the truth? Those who spread doubt about science tend to argue that scientists were “sure” in the past, and then they ended up being wrong. This conversation looks to historical investigation and philosophical-sociological analysis to defend science against this potentially dangerous scepticism. Indeed, as Peter Vickers argues, we can confidently identify many scientific claims that are future-proof: they will last forever, so long as science continues.

Walter Benjamin’s The Critique of Violence is arguably one of the most complex and critically debated essays ever written on the subject. It shows how violence has been integral to the formation of modern political systems and raises difficult questions about the theological nature of modern secularism. Brad Evans speaks to Professor James Martel to assess the relevance of Benjamin’s Critique today and consider how it can help us address the vexing problem of fascism in our t