Menu
Aeon
DonateNewsletter
SIGN IN
i

The cell is not a factory

Scientific narratives project social hierarchies onto nature. That’s why we need better metaphors to describe cellular life

Save

essay

Stories and literature

Terrifying vistas of reality

H P Lovecraft, the master of cosmic horror stories, was a philosopher who believed in the total insignificance of humanity

Sam Woodward

Save

video

Architecture

West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?

12 minutes

Save

essay

Bioethics

The dangers of AI farming

AI could lead to new ways for people to abuse animals for financial gain. That’s why we need strong ethical guidelines

Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert & Jonathan Birch

Save

video

Work

A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?

14 minutes

Save

video

Biography and memoir

The unique life philosophy of Abdi, born in Somalia, living in the Netherlands

29 minutes

Save

essay

Thinkers and theories

A man beyond categories

Paul Tillich was a religious socialist and a profoundly subtle theologian who placed doubt at the centre of his thought

Ted Farris

Bees push coloured tabs to access a sugary reward
Save

video

Cognition and intelligence

What’s this buzz about bees having culture? Inside a groundbreaking experiment

8 minutes

Save

essay

War and peace

Legacy of the Scythians

How the ancient warrior people of the steppes have found themselves on the cultural frontlines of Russia’s war against Ukraine

Peter Mumford

Save

video

Earth science and climate

The only man permitted in Bhutan’s sacred mountains chronicles humanity’s impact

22 minutes

A weary looking medical staff member in scrubs and face mask sits at a desk in a hospital room surrounded by medical paraphernalia
Save

essay

Public health

It’s dirty work

In caring for and bearing with human suffering, hospital staff perform extreme emotional labour. Is there a better way?

Susanna Crossman

Save

essay

Social psychology

The magic of the mundane

Pioneering sociologist Erving Goffman realised that every action is deeply revealing of the social norms by which we live

Lucy McDonald

Save

video

Cosmology

The Indian astronomer whose innovative work on black holes was mocked at Cambridge

13 minutes

Save

essay

Stories and literature

The real Miss Julie

Victoria Benedictsson assumed a male identity, achieved literary stardom, and took her own life. Then Strindberg stole it

Elisabeth Åsbrink

Save

video

Art

‘If you’re creative, why can’t you create a solution?’ One artist’s imaginative activism

17 minutes

A doorway within a metallic-like surface surrounded by hazard tape leads to a low-lit tunnel
Save

essay

The future

Prehistory in the atomic age

To understand the terrifying futures unleashed by nuclear weapons, we urgently need to return to the deep past

Maria Stavrinaki

Save

video

The ancient world

An ancient Roman’s hilarious (and perhaps relatable) response to a social snub

2 minutes

Save

essay

Economics

Who bears the risk?

Under the guise of empowerment and freedom, politicians and business are offloading lifethreatening risk to individuals

Suzanne Schneider

Save

essay

Political philosophy

The battles over beginnings

Niccolò Machiavelli’s profound insights about the violent origins of political societies help us understand the world today

David Polansky

Save

video

Ethics

For Iris Murdoch, selfishness is a fault that can be solved by reframing the world

6 minutes

Save

video

Death

A hunter’s lyrical reflection on the humbling business of being mortal

6 minutes

Save

essay

Anthropology

Societies of perpetual movement

Why do hunter-gatherers refuse to be sedentary? New answers are emerging from the depths of the Congolese rainforest

Cecilia Padilla-Iglesias

Save

video

Love and friendship

After his son’s terrorist attack, Azdyne seeks healing – and his granddaughter

25 minutes

A black and white photograph shows a woman on the edge of a sand dune overlooking the sea leaning back into a strong wind
Save

essay

Language and linguistics

Cathedrals of convention

Humans have a strong impulse to see things that are arbitrary or conventional as natural and essential – especially language

Reuben Cohn-Gordon

Save

essay

Neuroscience

Rethinking the homunculus

When we discovered that the brain contained a map of the body it revolutionised neuroscience. But it’s time for an update

Moheb Costandi