Author

Ben Oswald

Follow

Former Contributing Editor and Producer at The Institute of Art and Ideas

Former Contributing Editor and Producer at The Institute of Art and Ideas

More Articles

Two hands forming a frame against a blue sky and grassy field, creating a visual focal point in nature.

Truth and Imagination

A historical black-and-white photo of a woman wearing a military-style outfit and glasses, with a rifle slung over her shoulder, suggesting involvement in a conflict.

Against History: A Lesson from Simone Weil

A woman in a red gown stands on a snowy train platform, with a vintage train in the background and two men observing her.

Catherine Brown

Why Do We Fall in Love With Fictional Characters?

A young girl with short brown hair in a green and white striped shirt stands next to a large, ethereal dragon against a night sky.

Edward McDougall

Spirited Away with Heidegger

A close-up of two hands: one giving a thumbs up on a green background and the other giving a thumbs down on a red background.

Beauty is not just subjective

A sketch of a person from behind, surrounded by chaotic blue lines representing confusion or overwhelming thoughts, against a dark blue background.

Trauma. Chaos. Control. Repeat

A still life composition featuring a carved skull, assorted fruits, a glass of liquid, and various natural materials arranged on a dark fabric background.

Creativity's dance with death

A close-up view of a soap bubble displaying vibrant, swirling patterns in rainbow colors against a black background.

Peter Carruthers

The crisis of creativity

A vibrant explosion of colored powders in red, yellow, blue, green, purple, and white against a black background, creating a dynamic and energetic visual effect.

Reimagining creativity

A vibrant, abstract illustration of a brain intertwined with colorful splashes of paint, symbolizing creativity and thought.

Distraction, flow and the creative mind

A stylized, glowing red illustration of a human brain set against a dark background, highlighting complex neural pathways.

Iain McGilchrist

The right brain is essential to creativity

Creativity is about rebellion, not productivity

thinking is a kind of dancing

Kimerer LaMothe

Thinking is a kind of dancing

A white cat perched on a tree branch amidst bare branches, with a cloudy sky in the background.

High Irony

A man with a bald head and glasses stands against a blue sky, wearing a dark coat and a turtleneck.

Off Peak Dreams

A man in sunglasses sits confidently in a red leather chair, surrounded by a backdrop of cascading green digital code reminiscent of

What is Afrofuturism?

A person using a typewriter in a room decorated with photos, focused on a colorful pop-up scene displayed in front of them.

Styling the self

A hand holding a crystal ball reflecting a sunset landscape, featuring a road and fields under a colorful sky.

Coleridge and the unconscious

A surreal painting depicting a man in a bowler hat walking towards a mirrored corridor, creating an infinite reflection effect.

Simon Critchley

We are all tyrants

Science fiction is philosophy

A dynamic, abstract representation of data flowing through a digital tunnel, with vibrant blue and orange lines and glowing binary code elements on a dark background.

Paul March-Russell

When the Machine Stops

A young man and woman stand against a desert landscape at sunset, wearing futuristic clothing and breathing apparatuses, evoking a sci-fi atmosphere.

Kevin S. Decker

Nietzsche, Dune and the power of religion

Image features a collage of famous Russian figures against a backdrop of the Russian flag, including a historical figure on the left, Vladimir Putin in the center, and another historical figure on the right.

Josephine von Zitzewitz

The uses and abuses of the 'Russian soul'

A collage featuring George Orwell and Aldous Huxley against a backdrop of abstract, dystopian landscapes.

Orwell, Huxley and the path to truth

Foggy shoreline with dramatic rock formations and driftwood, creating a serene yet eerie atmosphere in a coastal landscape.

Florian Mussgnug

Daydreaming of Apocalypse

A close-up of curled filmstrips in black and white, showcasing the perforated edges and varying shades of gray.

Beyond the Hero

A group of figures in traditional attire, gathered on rocky terrain, with one man playing a string instrument while others listen intently, evoking a cultural storytelling scene.

Margherita Volpato

The death of the unreliable narrator

Two robots, one larger writing in a book and the other smaller observing, surrounded by various writing tools and a futuristic setting.

David Nowell Smith

AI poetry reveals the truth of the world

A historical portrait of Immanuel Kant and a contemporary figure wearing heart-shaped sunglasses, alongside a photograph of an unidentified man in a suit.

Nabokov and why the moral act is the free act

Two tree-like figures face each other, resembling human profiles, with birds flying between them against a cloudy sky.

Without relationships there is no self