Looking for Wisdom

Plato is famous for what is sometimes called his "theory of forms". But what are forms? What is this theory? And what makes Aslan an almost-perfect cat?

Xunzi was a Confucian philosopher who argued human beings were bad by nature. He advocated self-cultivation to correct our natural shortcomings.

Aztec philosophy tells us that the world is slippery, and that if we don't want to lose our footing, we need all the wisdom we can get.

The ancient Chinese philosopher who advocated uselessness and "free and easy wandering."

Arete of Cyrene was an early woman philosopher who was important in the establishment of the Cyrenaic school, which emphasised the centrality of bodily pleasure to the good life.

Mencius was a Confucian philosopher who argued for the inherent goodness of human nature, and who insisted that good government is about nourishing this inherent goodness.

Plato is undoubtedly one of the most influential thinkers in all of history. He opened up a series of questions — about philosophy, about knowledge, about truth, about politics and about ethics — that have continued to preoccupy people down to the present-day.