Patrick Stokes is associate professor of philosophy at Deakin University and a Melbourne-based writer and broadcaster. You can follow him on Twitter at @patstokes.

At swords’ length: Could a virtual parliament do the job?
It’s commonly said that the width of the centre table of Westminster-style parliaments – the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia –...

Higher fees for arts degrees: Why does the government have it in for the humanities?
The Australian government has a problem with the humanities. That was clear before they even took office, when Jamie Briggs publicly mocked...

Coronavirus culture war: Captain Cook, that tweet, the right, and their blather
They say there are no atheists in foxholes. Until recently, it looked as though there were no culture warriors in pandemics, either....

‘Big claims need big defences’: The moral problems with pro-death penalty arguments
In 2008, Garry Linnell described in explicit terms in the Daily Telegraph precisely how he’d like Ivan Milat to die. Seven years later,...