Unthinkable | The Irish Times

‘There is something new in our day – the way we can express invented identities without the requirement to stand by them.’ Photograph: Photothek/Getty Images

Is technology to blame for spread of ‘unjoined-up thinking’?

Social media ‘invites us to be so many people at once’, says UCC academic Fiachra Long

‘The approach to knowledge in art and science is different but complementary.’ File image: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images

Rethinking stereotypes about science and the arts

Unthinkable: Prof Tom McLeish identifies eight stages of creation common to disciplines as diverse as painting and biology

‘Nearly all of us have some desire to do what’s right but a lot of the time our desire doesn’t really translate into motivation.’ Photograph: Getty images

Is morality just a matter of following your deepest desires?

Unthinkable: Most of us have a longing to ‘do the right thing’, says Lizzy Ventham

A pro-Brexit activist holds a placard outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/ AFP/Getty Images

‘Take back control’: why the Brexit slogan resonates across Europe

Unthinkable: People want ‘sovereignty’ over their lives, says philosopher Michele Nicoletti

Remainers showed ‘a lethal combination of arrogance and naivety’ ahead of the 2016 referendum. Photograph: Reuters/Henry Nicholls

Intellectual vices, from Brexit to the Birmingham Six

Unthinkable: The Leave campaign was unconcerned about truth but Remainers showed ‘naivety and arrogance’, says philosopher Quassim Cassam

‘Adventures in Philosophy’ illustrator Paula McGloin with author Brendan O’Donoghue. Photograph: Ruth Medjber

Ireland does philosophy: A new guide for the perplexed

Unthinkable: A philosophy book designed for younger readers takes inspiration from Kerry sage John Moriarty

A group of Chinese Shaolin Buddhist monks on a visit to Dublin. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien

How to find your inner Zen Buddhist

Unthinkable: ‘A love of mystery is deeply embedded in the Irish psyche,’ says the author of a new translation of eastern wisdom stories

‘Sometimes we make better choices by taking the long view, and seeing all parts of time as equally real.’ Photograph: Reuters/Brian Snyder

Living in the now: It’s not as simple as you’d think

Science suggests the present has ‘no particular significance’ above the past or the future?

“Being able to identify yourself as part of nature without being laughed at... [is] a huge shift.” Photograph: AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert

In despair over climate change? Try ‘active hope’

Unthinkable: Less focus on outcomes can help to counter pessimism

Even when relaxing, people feel an urge to read something ‘improving’ or useful. Photograph: Noel Hendrickson/Thinkstock/Getty

Are humans losing the ability to be idle?

Unthinkable: A new book on dossing and daydreaming seeks to challenge our traditional work ethic

Children prepare for a nativity play: “Religion is filled with fantastical superheroes and stories.” Photograph: Frank Miller

Is religion better than atheism as a coping mechanism?

Unthinkable: Secular philosophies ‘lack the melodrama of religion’, says Stephen Asma

Muslim praying in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Islam has ‘given rise to remarkably free societies as well as depressingly intolerant ones’. Photograph: AP/Muhammed Muheisen

What can the West learn from the rest?

Unthinkable: Borrowing foreign ideas can expand our thinking, says Julian Baggini

‘My position is to recommend that people consider parenting a child with Down syndrome, if given the opportunity’. Photograph: iStock

Is economics corrupting our idea of human worth?

Unthinkable: Pro-choice author Chris Kaposy warns of ‘elimination of people with Down syndrome’

Angry bird: social media incentivises conflict over constructive dialogue. Photograph: Reuters

Is it time to cut back on criticism?

Unthinkable: An ‘arms race’ of critique is hindering social progress, argues sociologist Tom Boland

America’s failure to repent the use of the atomic bomb contributed to “the ending of the western Christian civilisation”, says Desmond Fennell. Photograph: US Defense Department/Reuters

What will replace ‘western civilisation’?

Unthinkable: We’re at a point in history ‘between two civilisations’, argues Desmond Fennell

Pilgrims waiting in Phoenix Park, Dublin for the visit of Pope Francis. Photograph: Cyril Byrne

A ‘third way’ of looking at religion

Unthinkable: Two dead philosophers could provide the key to a more mature debate on faith

Irish Yong Philosopher Award winner Luke Rickard (16) with President Michael D. Higgins. Photograph: UCD Colleges of Social Sciences and Law

Meet Ireland’s young philosopher of the year

Unthinkable: The Irish Young Philosopher Awards hopes to become as big as the Young Scientist exhibition

‘There is a paradox in war: Why do individuals sacrifice themselves for their groups?’ Photgraph: Reuters/Joe Raedle

Is fighting in our genes? A biological theory of warfare

Unthinkable: ‘Humans fight to achieve status and belonging,’ says former soldier Mike Martin

Rhetorical rivals Edmund Burke and Mary Wollstonecraft. Photographs: Getty Images

Was Ireland’s most prominent philosopher ‘too womanly’?

Unthinkable: The Irish statesman Edmund Burke was a victim of reverse sexism

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg at a US Senate hearing in April. The distribution of fake news could be combated by sanctioning social media platforms. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

How do we create the right ‘environment’ for public debate?

Unthinkable: Knowledge is an ‘epistemic good’ to which everyone should have access

“Children who commit crimes should be treated more leniently because they are denied the vote.” Photograph: E+/Getty Images

Would lowering voting age justify being tougher on under 18s?

Unthinkable: Children who commit crimes deserve leniency only because they can’t vote, US academic argues

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