https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/philosophy/RSS feed for PhilosophyenTue, 18 Aug 2026 16:00:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/earths-organisms-developed-via-evolution-some-theorists-wonder-what-if-the-entire-cosmos-did-too-180989338/The idea that universes evolve like organisms sat on the fringes of theoretical physics for decades. Then, a Substack post and a 2022 find by the James Webb Space Telescope boosted the conceptTue, 18 Aug 2026 16:00:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/earths-organisms-developed-via-evolution-some-theorists-wonder-what-if-the-entire-cosmos-did-too-180989338/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-have-deciphered-the-surviving-fragments-of-a-2000-year-old-philosophical-treatise-frozen-in-time-by-mount-vesuvius-eruption-180989036/The papyrus manuscript was part of a vast library preserved by volcanic ash. Now, the remaining passages—which examine ethics, knowledge and human nature—are accessible for the first time since 79 C.E.Fri, 26 Jun 2026 19:51:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-have-deciphered-the-surviving-fragments-of-a-2000-year-old-philosophical-treatise-frozen-in-time-by-mount-vesuvius-eruption-180989036/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-say-theyve-discovered-little-lab-zombies-seemingly-immortal-tissue-taken-from-sea-cucumbers-180988880/Chunks removed from the marine creatures more than three years ago haven't degraded and show signs of biological activity, raising questions about what it means to be aliveTue, 02 Jun 2026 19:56:38 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-say-theyve-discovered-little-lab-zombies-seemingly-immortal-tissue-taken-from-sea-cucumbers-180988880/https://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/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-discover-the-shocking-age-of-the-mysterious-pecos-river-rock-art-180987797/The murals were painted on limestone canyon walls, in the same style, over the span of four millenniaThu, 04 Dec 2025 19:44:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-discover-the-shocking-age-of-the-mysterious-pecos-river-rock-art-180987797/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/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-smithsonian-transfers-rare-2300-year-old-silk-manuscrips-to-china-180986667/The Zidanku Silk Manuscripts were smuggled into the United States in the 1940s. Scholars say they provide remarkable insights into ancient Chinese philosophy and religionFri, 23 May 2025 15:58:46 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-smithsonian-transfers-rare-2300-year-old-silk-manuscrips-to-china-180986667/https://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/https://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/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-archaeologists-discovered-europes-oldest-known-book-revealing-never-before-seen-insights-into-ancient-religion-and-philosophy-180985818/Charred by the flames of a funeral pyre, the Derveni Papyrus has proved to be a fascinating—and confounding—artifactWed, 15 Jan 2025 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-archaeologists-discovered-europes-oldest-known-book-revealing-never-before-seen-insights-into-ancient-religion-and-philosophy-180985818/