Philosopher File

The trouble with pleasure, according to the philosopher Epicurus, is that we're not very good at it.

An alternative theory of gift-giving, drawing on philosophy from the Tanimbar islands of Indonesia, and from the philosophical traditions of India.

Christmas is on the way, and you are facing your biggest philosophical challenge of the year: what gift do you get for a man like Uncle Pedro?

The philosopher Chrysippus believed that emotions are not things that happen to us, but things that we do. This means that we can bring emotion under the control of reason.

According to both philosophers of Ancient China and those of the Ancient Maya world, ritual has a powerful role to play in shaping ourselves - and the world.

Getting philosophical about ritual, from Confucius and spirit sacrifice in Ancient China to the everyday miracle of shaking hands.

Pyrrho was the precursor of the ancient sceptical school. He was a philosopher who travelled widely and, according to some commentators, reinvented Indian modes of thought in the context of ancient Greece.

The Cynic philosopher Hipparchia defied social convention, in pursuit of a life free of hypocrisy and privilege.

Stoicism was one of the most influential philosophical schools in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. And the first Stoic philosopher was Zeno of Citium.

We often assume that Indian philosophy is somehow inherently “spiritual”. But India's long tradition of Cārvāka materialist philosophy suggests otherwise.

An interview with Sophie Grace Chappell about philosophy, following your deepest impulses, and why mountain climbing is not unlike philosophy.

Aristotle argued that the end or purpose of human life was flourishing. But what is flourishing? And how do we flourish?