World Philosophy Day is on November 18th. Celebrated every year, and set up by UNESCO to underline the enduring value of philosophy for the development of human thought, for each culture and for each individual, it gives us the opportunity to demonstrate how philosophy encourages critical and independent thought. An important aim is to help us “work towards a better understanding of the world and promote tolerance and peace.”
At a time when there are so many critical issues affecting us: a global pandemic, unequal access to health services, concern about inequality and racism – to highlight just a few – sharing ideas on how we can address these concerns has never been more important.
This year, UNESCO wishes to emphasize “the more than ever essential need to resort to philosophical reflection to face these multiple crises. When the world is plunged into uncertainty and disorder, we turn to philosophy.”
On World Philosophy Day and over the week, we would like to share and discuss ideas and the role that philosophy plays.
We have put together a collection of articles on many of these key issues and we’ve gathered some recent special issues from our philosophy journals that we hope will stimulate debate. We hope you enjoy reading these and would love to hear your views.
If you are interested in ethics, global health, inequality, or want to learn more about new philosophical approaches and applications, we hope you will find articles to interest you – do check out the collection. There are also resources to help if you are looking to publish and make an impact with your research.
Philosophy in Action
The Philosopher's Eye 