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Matthew  Duncombe

Matthew Duncombe

I work mainly on Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics and ancient sceptics. I often write about ancient logical and metaphysical ideas, but I have a broad range of philosophical interests, including ethics, games, fate, paradoxes and mental health, especially ancient perspectives on these.

I have written two books - 'Ancient Relativity: Plato, Aristotle, Stoics and Sceptics' (Oxford University Press, 2020) and 'Relative Change' (Cambridge University Press, 2022) - and numerous articles for academic journals and mainstream publications. I'm committed to getting philosophy outside the academy, and I run public events using virtual reality, games, and debates to engage people with philosophical questions.

I'm currently writing a book and producing a collection of sources for the Megaric and Dialectical philosophers, followers of Socrates, who, I think, were a significant influence on Stoicism.

How to fix democracy? Ancient philosopher Plato may have an answer

Jan 21, 2025 12:59 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life Politics

The Republic, the best-known work of ancient Greek philosopher Plato, authored around 375BC, has shaped western political thought. Greece is now known as the cradle of democracy. Not only was the first democracy in the...

Stoicism on Tiktok promises happiness – but the ancient philosophers who came up with it had something very different in mind

Nov 19, 2023 05:53 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

I dont know about you, but my TikTok is full of influencers telling me I should be a Stoic. You might know the term stoic as a person who goes through hardship while maintaining a steely and calm disposition, and never...

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