Philosophers | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/philosophers/RSS feed for PhilosophersenMon, 29 Dec 2025 18:34:57 +0000Archaeologists Are Using Lasers to Clean Decades of Grime Off a Towering 1,800-Year-Old Marble Column in Romehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-are-using-lasers-to-clean-decades-of-grime-off-a-towering-1800-year-old-marble-column-in-rome-180987926/Standing 154 feet tall, the column of Marcus Aurelius is located in the Piazza Colonna and intricately decorated with gruesome scenes of warfareMon, 29 Dec 2025 18:34:57 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-are-using-lasers-to-clean-decades-of-grime-off-a-towering-1800-year-old-marble-column-in-rome-180987926/This 1837 Harvard Speech by Ralph Waldo Emerson Inspired a Generation of American Writers to Declare Their Independence From 'the Courtly Muses of Europe’https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-1837-harvard-speech-by-ralph-waldo-emerson-inspired-a-generation-of-american-writers-to-declare-their-independence-from-the-courtly-muses-of-europe-180987451/His address advocated for scholars of the young United States to be less “timid,” “imitative” and “tame”Mon, 06 Oct 2025 18:20:02 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-1837-harvard-speech-by-ralph-waldo-emerson-inspired-a-generation-of-american-writers-to-declare-their-independence-from-the-courtly-muses-of-europe-180987451/These Ancient Scrolls Have Been a Tantalizing Mystery for 2,000 Years. Researchers Just Deciphered a Title for the First Timehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-ancient-scrolls-have-been-a-tantalizing-mystery-for-2000-years-researchers-just-deciphered-a-title-for-the-first-time-180986639/Mount Vesuvius' eruption preserved the Herculaneum scrolls beneath a blanket of ash. Two millennia later, X-ray scans show that one of them is a philosophical text called "On Vice"Fri, 16 May 2025 15:41:57 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-ancient-scrolls-have-been-a-tantalizing-mystery-for-2000-years-researchers-just-deciphered-a-title-for-the-first-time-180986639/A Looted Bronze Statue That May Depict Marcus Aurelius Is Returning to Turkeyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-looted-bronze-statue-that-may-depict-marcus-aurelius-is-returning-to-turkey-180986094/The repatriation comes after years of legal disputes over the true identity and provenance of the 6-foot-4 artwork, which has been housed at the Cleveland Museum of ArtFri, 21 Feb 2025 22:06:12 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-looted-bronze-statue-that-may-depict-marcus-aurelius-is-returning-to-turkey-180986094/Using A.I., Researchers Peer Inside a 2,000-Year-Old Scroll Charred by Mount Vesuvius' Eruptionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/using-ai-researchers-peer-inside-a-2000-year-old-scroll-charred-by-mount-vesuvius-eruption-180986011/For the past two years, citizen scientists and scholars have been working to reveal the previously hidden texts of the Herculaneum scrollsThu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/using-ai-researchers-peer-inside-a-2000-year-old-scroll-charred-by-mount-vesuvius-eruption-180986011/This Newly Deciphered Papyrus Scroll Reveals the Location of Plato's Gravehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/platos-elusive-grave-located-after-bionic-eye-penetrates-2000-year-old-papyrus-180984221/The mysterious site is mentioned in a text buried by Mount Vesuvius' eruption 2,000 years agoWed, 01 May 2024 20:38:50 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/platos-elusive-grave-located-after-bionic-eye-penetrates-2000-year-old-papyrus-180984221/Was This Villa Pliny the Elder’s Front-Row Seat to Mount Vesuvius' Eruption?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-ancient-mansion-may-have-been-pliny-the-elders-front-row-seat-to-mount-vesuvius-eruption-180983736/Researchers are wondering whether a newly discovered villa in southern Italy could be linked to the celebrated scholarThu, 08 Feb 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-ancient-mansion-may-have-been-pliny-the-elders-front-row-seat-to-mount-vesuvius-eruption-180983736/The 19th-Century Novel That Inspired a Communist Utopia on the American Frontierhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-19th-century-novel-that-inspired-a-communist-utopia-on-the-american-frontier-icarians-180983302/The Icarians thought they could build a paradise, but their project was marked by failure almost from the startTue, 28 Nov 2023 12:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-19th-century-novel-that-inspired-a-communist-utopia-on-the-american-frontier-icarians-180983302/The Indian Guru Who Brought Eastern Spirituality to the Westhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-indian-guru-who-brought-eastern-spirituality-to-the-west-180980896/A new biography explores the life of Vivekananda, a Hindu ascetic who promoted a more inclusive vision of religionThu, 06 Oct 2022 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-indian-guru-who-brought-eastern-spirituality-to-the-west-180980896/These 18th-Century Shoes Underscore the Contradictions of the Age of Enlightenmenthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/these-18th-century-shoes-underscore-the-contradictions-of-the-age-of-enlightenment-180980508/An exhibition at Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum examines fashion's role in supporting social hierarchies that emerged during the landmark intellectual movementThu, 11 Aug 2022 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/these-18th-century-shoes-underscore-the-contradictions-of-the-age-of-enlightenment-180980508/