Editor's note

The holidays are a great time to ponder the meaning of life – or at the very least, brush up on your knowledge of some of the world’s great thinkers.

If you’ve always meant to know more about Foucault, we can help. And if you can’t quite get your head around Kant, we have just the solution.

Our potted guides to classic books might also come in handy, whether an analysis of Plato’s Republic by philosopher Matthew Sharpe or historian Caillan Davenport’s reading of Tacitus’ Annals, a book that has influenced other thinkers through the ages.

If fiction’s more your thing, you might prefer Camilla Nelson’s tribute to the novelist George Eliot, a writer with ‘an awesome curiosity’ and an ‘endless appetite for ideas’.

Of course, if all this sounds a bit heavy, you could always just put on a movie. Why not make it The Matrix, a film that explores some of the big philosophical questions.

Suzy Freeman-Greene

Section Editor: Arts + Culture

An illustration of the allegory of the cave from Plato’s Republic. 4edges/Wikimedia Commons

Guide to the classics: Plato’s Republic

Matthew Sharpe, Deakin University

Plato's Republic is one of the most influential books in history. It has been claimed by people on all sides of the political spectrum and continues to resonate today.

The moody landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich were inspired by Kant’s ideas of the sublime. Wikimedia Commons

Explainer: the ideas of Kant

Cat Moir, University of Sydney

Kant's philosophies include ideas on faith, the sublime, and the enlightenment. But what do these ideas mean? And how can we use them today?

Michel Foucault argued that surveillance, such as CCTV, is used to enforce social norms. From www.shutterstock.com

Explainer: the ideas of Foucault

Christopher Pollard, Deakin University

Michel Foucault was one of the most famous thinkers of the late 20th century, achieving celebrity-like status before his death. His theories about power and social change continue to resonate.

Guide to the classics: Tacitus’ Annals and its enduring portrait of monarchical power

Caillan Davenport, Macquarie University

Tacitus' Annals is a powerful and darkly humorous examination of imperial Rome. Though his work was little read in the Roman world, it has influenced great thinkers such as Hobbes and Montesquieu.

Friday essay: George Eliot 200 years on - a scandalous life, a brilliant mind and a huge literary legacy

Camilla Nelson, University of Notre Dame Australia

Henry James called her a 'great, horse-faced bluestocking'. On the 200th anniversary of her birth, we celebrate George Eliot, a literary trailblazer with an endless appetite for ideas, living in a patriarchal time.

The Matrix was a box office hit, but it also explored some of western philosophy’s most interesting themes. HD Wallpapers Desktop/Warner Bros

The Matrix 20 years on: how a sci-fi film tackled big philosophical questions

Richard Colledge, Australian Catholic University

Cult film The Matrix was released 20 years ago this month. From Plato to Baudrillard, the film explored philosophical dilemmas we are still wrestling with today.

 

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