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Jonny Thomson
Author and philosopher
Jonny Thomson taught philosophy in Oxford for more than a decade before turning to writing full-time. He’s a columnist at Big Think and is the award-winning, bestselling author of three books that have been translated into 22 languages.
Jonny is also the founder of Mini Philosophy, a social network of around two million curious, intelligent minds. He's known all over the world for making philosophy accessible, relatable, and fun.
Read Less
👁 A sliced onion bulb with roots and stem, illuminated from behind and set against a black background, resembles the delicate layers of daffodils in bloom.
What a fragile flower can teach us about resilience, death, and becoming someone new.
👁 Illustration in Aztec style showing four people with headdresses holding plants, a flower, and a drum, appearing to engage in a ceremonial or festive activity that explores themes of moral luck.
Nick was always an angry boy, but he was unlucky as well.
👁 Three women in historical attire are shown reading different books, captured in a detailed, vintage-style illustration with fine linework.
Skim or scan this. No need to deep-read.
👁 Illustration of a person in a suit with a birdcage as a head; a red bird is perched inside the cage, symbolizing indoctrination and the constraints placed on free thought.
Some people are always at war.
👁 Two illustrated flowers, one red and one white, stand in grass with handwritten text and red paint splatters in the background, evoking a sense of myth and timeless storytelling.
Ambition. Descent. Wisdom.
👁 Three men in dark clothing sit and talk on a small boat in a harbor with ships and calm water in the background, under a hazy sky.
"Broadly speaking, it's at least plausible, this might be right."
👁 A person's hand stupidly reaches toward the open mouth of a crocodile with visible sharp teeth against a gradient background.
How many stupid acts does it take to make a person stupid?
👁 A woman in white approaches a large, winged creature with a human face—an embodiment of ancient archtypes—partially hidden behind a rock in a mountainous landscape.
I'm definitely a Kitsune, but would a Kitsune actually say that?
👁 A man in overalls, an example of epistemic trespassing, holds wrenches while standing between surgeons in scrubs and masks performing surgery.
Not all knowledge carries over.
👁 A person in white clothing is partially emerging from a wooden coffin, one hand gripping the lid and the other reaching out, evoking a sense of nostalgia for stories of the past.
Today, nostalgia is somewhat kitsch. Back then, it was something to be feared.
👁 A grayscale illustration of a wizard leader with a hat and staff is centered on a spiral background, bordered by torn yellow paper on a grid-lined surface.
Three virtues every good leader must develop.
👁 Two people sit on white chairs facing each other, both smiling and dressed formally, on a brightly lit stage with a blue and white background.
People don't want you to buy their stories — they want you to listen to them.
👁 Person wearing a Santa Claus suit rakes sand in a purposeful pattern, resembling a Zen garden, against a beige background.
Santa's done really well this year.
👁 A woman in a blue floral robe looks at her reflection in a mirror, her back partially turned to the viewer as she contemplates her identity.
Who polices our identities?
👁 A close-up drawing of a woman's face with her eyes closed, head tilted back in pleasure, and dramatic shadows cast across her cheeks and lips.
Pleasure is never bad — but its source can be.
👁 A woman with long red hair, wearing a puffer jacket, stands outdoors with passion in her gaze—holding binoculars and looking up as a camera hangs from her neck.
Be weird and esoteric because humans are weird and esoteric.
👁 A person with an illustrated book as a head—pages open, filled with wavy black lines—appears to be brain reading as they stand against a plain light green background.
The technology might be much closer than you'd think.
👁 A graphic contrasts pragmatists and purists in moral philosophy, with photos of activists and protest scenes connected by arrows labeled "progress.
History shows that progress often depends on activists at both ends of the spectrum.
👁 A woman displays stoicism as she grimaces, unfazed by a pancake landing on her head while holding a frying pan in a kitchen setting.
Ryan Holiday on why wisdom depends on failure, experimentation, and the courage to admit when we’re wrong.
👁 A man in a suit stands facing a large human eye, positioned at the center of the pupil as if about to step inside.
1hr 12mins
“Consciousness is fundamental. It's a fundamental property of the world that we inhabit, a fundamental property of the universe.”
Learn from the world's biggest thinkers.
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