‘Second renaissance’: tech uncovers ancient scroll secrets of Plato and co
Researchers and Silicon Valley are using tools powered by AI to read what had long been thought unreadable
April 2024
Plato’s final hours recounted in scroll found in Vesuvius ash
Newly deciphered passages outline Greek philosopher’s burial place and describe critique of slave musician
March 2024
Why do we do things that are bad for us? The ancient philosophers had an answer
Plato, Socrates and Aristotle wrestled with the concept of akrasia –whether it’s possible to act against what you know to be good
October 2023
Top 10s
The top 10 allegories in fiction, from Plato to Kafka
Authors from Jonathan Swift to NoViolet Bulawayo show how much can be done with what might sound a narrow form – and how much fun can be had with it
November 2022
Lost city of Atlantis rises again to fuel a dangerous myth
Millions have watched Netflix hit Ancient Apocalypse, which is just the latest interpretation of an enduring tale. But in its appeal to ‘race science’ it’s more than merely controversial
May 2022
Cancelling Socrates: how the great philosopher sealed his fate with comedy
The long read
Why is it so hard to control our appetites? A doctor’s struggles with giving up sugar
May 2020
Drillosophy: why UK rappers are teaching Plato in lockdown
A pair of London youth workers have created a new video series that aims to enliven philosophical concepts with the energy of drill music
December 2019
Top 10s
Top 10 dinner parties in fiction
Guardian Sport Network
The ethics of walking in cricket: from Socrates to Nietzsche
November 2019
Book clinic
Book clinic: Can you recommend utopian novels for these dystopian times?
We suggest novels that reveal the kindness of strangers and leave you with a sense of hope
May 2019
The other side of Black Mirror: literary utopias offer the seeds of better real life
Sandra Newman
Book of the day
The Right Life by Remo H Largo review – don't try to advance beyond your talents
May 2018
The long read
Why replacing politicians with experts is a reckless idea
The long read: In the age of Trump and Brexit, some people say that democracy is fatally flawed and we should be ruled by ‘those who know best’. Here’s why that’s not very clever
January 2018
You don’t need to know Plato and Aristotle to be a humanist
Letters: Academic philosophers call on Amber Rudd to reconsider decision to refuse Pakistani’s request for asylum on the grounds that he did not mention Plato and Aristotle when questioned about humanism
September 2017
AC Grayling: our right to good government
Letters: AC Grayling responds to Giles Fraser’s article about ‘patronising elites’; while Deborah Cook says Fraser ignored the fact that Plato thought truth was paramount
Loose canon
The wrong sort of voter? There’s no such thing, AC Grayling
Giles Fraser
Loose canon: Grayling revives a fear of the mob that’s as old as Plato. Brexit convinced our elite that ordinary people were not intelligent enough to know what’s best for them
Top 10s
Top 10 books about teaching
As another school year begins, here is some of the most instructive reading about this toughest of subjects — from Plato to Shakespeare and beyond
February 2017
The political importance of having fun: why protests should be enjoyable
Fun is vulgar, immediate, democratic – and it defies the earnest powers that set out quite deliberately to make people miserable
December 2016
The Guardian view on democracy: an uncertain year
Editorial: For the ancient Greeks, politics was way of life. We could learn from them
