• Dementia and its handmaids

Dementia and its handmaids

  • 29 February 2024

Many people have a period of dementia before they die. Indeed, dementia has been […]

  • The Euclidean Programme

The Euclidean Programme

  • 31 January 2024

Mathematical knowledge has puzzled philosophers for millennia. The LSE’s own Imre Lakatos coined the […]

  • Philosophy and Neurodiversity

Philosophy and Neurodiversity

What is neurodiversity, and what does it mean for philosophy? Sam Crutcher explores how “divergent worldviews” shape philosophical insight and discussion.

  • The devil’s in the framing: language and bias

The devil’s in the framing: language and bias

  • 8 February 2022

How we say things can be as important as what we say. In this post, Ella Whiteley explores the “framing effect” and its implications for discussions of sex and gender.

  • How to respond to Omicron: lessons from Alpha

How to respond to Omicron: lessons from Alpha

  • 7 December 2021

When advisors warned of “significant concerns” about the Alpha variant, the UK government acted quickly. But suspicions about Alpha’s greater transmissibility were first noted a week earlier. Jonathan Birch suggests that when the stakes are so high, even low confidence in a particular outcome can be enough to justify policy interventions.

  • In the Name of Europe

In the Name of Europe

  • 24 August 2021

How should philosophical writing employ the first-person plural, “we”? Simon Glendinning reflects on his recent work on the philosophy of Europe.

  • Can beliefs be morally wrong?

Can beliefs be morally wrong?

It’s clear that beliefs can be wrong about the way the world is, but can they also be wrong in a moral sense? Lewis Ross looks at the moral status of belief.

  • The mind-body problem

The mind-body problem

  • 3 November 2020

What’s really at stake in the mind-body debate? Jonathan Birch looks at some of the explanatory differences in approaches to the metaphysics of consciousness.

  • Lives v livelihoods: Evaluating policies to address COVID-19

Lives v livelihoods: Evaluating policies to address COVID-19

  • 21 October 2020

Policies that suppress or control COVID-19 prevent illness and save lives, but exact an economic toll. How should we balance lives and livelihoods to determine which policy is best? Richard Bradley, Alex Voorhoeve et al. compare benefit-cost and social welfare approaches to the pandemic.

  • Ideally Value-Free Coronavirus Science

Ideally Value-Free Coronavirus Science

  • 9 September 2020

How does the role of scientist relate to the role of policy-maker? Philip Thonemann looks at coronavirus science, public policy and the value free ideal.

  • Immunity Testing: Our passport out of lockdown?

Immunity Testing: Our passport out of lockdown?

  • 2 June 2020

Immunity testing has been touted as one of the best ways to escape lockdown, but just how accurate will these tests have to be? Richard Bradley and Liam Kofi Bright look at inductive risk and policy-making during the pandemic.

  • After Obamacare

After Obamacare

How should US policy-makers choose a replacement for the Affordable Care Act? Dan Hausman looks at the values and economic complications guiding health care reform.

  • The Last Hope Part 3: Attitudes

The Last Hope Part 3: Attitudes

  • 3 October 2017

How do you hope to be thought of after you die? In his final post in this series, Luc Bovens looks at attitudes towards the dead.

  • An Education in Diversity?

An Education in Diversity?

Can compulsory formal education be justified on liberal grounds? Christina Easton on J. S. Mill, John Rawls and the famous Wisconsin v. Yoder court case.

  • Why is doping wrong anyway?

Why is doping wrong anyway?

Most sports ban certain performance-enhancing drugs and penalise those who use them. But is the use of these drugs morally wrong? Heather Dyke looks at the ethics of doping.

  • Negotiating with Myself

Negotiating with Myself

  • 8 June 2016

Can the concept of “temporal selves” help us understand temptation and restraint? Johanna Thoma on self-negotiation.

  • Towards a fairer distribution of refugees

Towards a fairer distribution of refugees

  • 28 April 2016

With the current refugee crisis showing no sign of abating, a fair and efficient method for distributing people to different countries is urgently needed. In this post, Philippe van Basshuysen looks at matching systems.

  • Homeopathy and Evidence-Based Policy

Homeopathy and Evidence-Based Policy

With the UK government considering a ban on the prescription of homeopathic remedies on the NHS, John Worrall examines the rationale for such a proposal and suggests that the decision is not as simple as it might initially seem.