I don't actively try to stay "current" anymore, certainly not in the last 5-6 years. That said, I lean heavily on

• Public libraries (periodicals, journals, foreign press)
• Personal library (+3k volumes, +1k unread, ave. 5-6 new books added monthly)
• online discussions in (mostly) philosophy, science, literature, film & ttrpg design
• no cable or streaming services (c2k dvds, +1k cds ... mostly a decade or more older)

I also don't have "favorite" magazines, etc anymore. I skim both ends of the (ideological, cultural, intellectual) spectrum and dive deep only on a case-by-case basis. I read much less voraciously now that I'm in my mid-50s. Anyway, I am interested in how others will answer the OP.

I pay attention to the news. That used to be network news, and newspapers including The Christian Science Monitor. Now just online and NPR, the internet providing some opportunity for depth when desired.

But "keeping current" must not be confused with keeping abreast of current knowledge. Two different things. Example: some few years ago the news reported Fermat's last theorem settled, finally, after about 380 years of attempts by all kinds of people, with cash prizes at stake. Keeping current merely means being aware of the event. Keeping abreast would mean understanding the proof itself, and on planet Earth at most few dozen mathematicians understand that.

Twitter is quite handy and good for getting the up-to-date news, links and information on all the different topics coming out from the universities and organisations.

There seem many university lecturers, artists, writers and researchers of the subject, active on Twitter, twitting about their current interests and activities on the topics minute by minute from every part of the world.

up to date — Angelo

What's up-to-date? :rofl:

Jokes aside, my favorite database updating tool is Google News - it provides a balanced mix of the latest in almost every area of human activity - superheroes to supercolliders. However, I usually don't dive deeper than what the headlines say but occasionaly I click through the nested links and before I know it, I'm lost in (cyber)space!

The idea of 'keeping up to date' is interesting in regard to philosophy because in many ways it deals with the eternal questions. However, I am aware that you frame what you are saying in the context of the arts and culture. In this sense, I believe that keeping up to date probably involves being as aware of what is going on in the world as far as possible, including trends of political and scientific thought as well as the arts. But, while what I am saying may seem obvious, I think that getting the widest possible knowledge is easy, even with the internet, because there is simply so much to know about, and so much is changing constantly.

As far as reading goes, I remember when I was on an academic course, not related to a philosophy, being told that all references should be to books written in the last 5 years, unless they were classic texts. I am not sure how this would apply to philosophy, or, perhaps there are simply more classic texts. I do like to try to read some newish books, but definitely read many which go back to the last century. But, apart from looking at this site and articles on the internet, for about the last 6 months, I have been reading 'Philosophy Now'. I feel that has a fair range of recent articles and reviews of new books. I also go into bookshops and look at new books, browsing far more than the ones which I buy.

The idea of 'keeping up to date' is interesting in regard to philosophy because in many ways it deals with the eternal questions — Jack Cummins

Bad Jack, bad! :lol:

I don't actively try to stay "current" anymore — 180 Proof

That's not good, not good at all. You have a good handle on history (philosophy, politics, religion, science, whathaveyou). You, unlike me, have time for the present and also the future (keep up with the times as it were). Buck up 180 Proof. You're one of the leaders of the pack! :lol:

I used to think the Oxford Handbook Series were for the new articles on the Philosophical topics. But found out that they are mostly 10 - 20 years old papers. Cannot beat the Online sources for the most current contents due to the constant updates they get.

I visit Philosophy Now time to time. Found it good for the books recommendations and some current stuff.

That's not good, not good at all. — TheMadFool

It's good enough for me.

It's good enough for me. — 180 Proof

Wouldn’t do much good to update me, at this stage of the game. I mean....what would be the point? Wouldn’t matter to water under the bridge, and there won’t be that much water or that many bridges left anyway, so.....

Nahhhhh.......updates are for those inexperienced enough to actually benefit from them.

How do you keep yourself up to date about last philosophy tendencies, research, important topics, new ideas? — Angelo

I don't. Perhaps I took Arthur Balfour's advice too seriously:

Nothing matters very much and most things don't matter at all.

You say that, 'Nothing matters much and things don't matter at all'. I am in complete disagreement with you here, believing that everything matters so much, on a personal, social and cosmic scale. I awake daily, with the conundrum of juggling all of these for a living understanding of life. As far as knowledge goes, I wish to keep up to date and attuned to the latest developments and best ways of understanding everything.

It's good enough for me. — 180 Proof

I totally understand! Ignore me.

I have a chrome folder of bookmarks for News Websites that I check daily. There's a lot of useful blogs I follow back and forth. Otherwise I get a lot from foreign news from friends on Facebook. Twitter is useful as long as you scrupulously avoid ego-pandering nonsense and follow serious scholars & journalists. I prefer reading content over medium like podcasts because listening takes longer. I don't have cable and haven't watched television for a long time. I use youtube but not for news.

How do you keep yourself up to date about last philosophy tendencies, research, important topics, new ideas? — Angelo

I don't. I stopped. Now I'm only interested in things that interest me. Sometimes, I google a theme and mostly just skim read the results.

At some point, wisdom becomes self-generating, self-perpetuating. Oh, what bliss, what bliss!

:starstruck:

I think that for philosophy specifically, you eventually find one school of thought or pattern of ideas that you sympathize with and then you mostly stick to that. Much of the brand new stuff is quite arid compared to many classics, even classics of the 20th century did much more interesting work than a lot of recent stuff.

Having said that, I suppose that once in a while going to sites like academia.edu and reading a few essays keeps you informed on the new stuff.

With science it's different, I try to find articles on astronomy weekly, to see what new discovery has been made. I also check my favorite public physicists a few times a month. With the other sciences it's more rare for me to look new stuff up, unless it makes the headlines. So your interests dictate what you follow and deem worthy of your time.

I always look for interesting YouTube lectures, these can be excellent if you find good sites. And finally I read daily the headlines in the Financial Times, Al Jazeera, Russia Today and sometimes Democracy Now! and sometimes several articles depending on the topic.

...as if philosophy were fashion.

There's a section in Philosophy Now that provides news on recent events involving philosophers. That'll do.

Otherwise, just follow your interests.

I am in complete disagreement with you here, believing that everything matters so much, on a personal, social and cosmic scale. — Jack Cummins

Ah... perhaps you need to explore this.

I was quoting AB, but I think it is a useful ingredient in the soup of life. I actually think it has a Taoist flavour.

Even though I said that everything matters, I think that in many ways, the idea that nothing matters and everything matters is in many ways an essential paradox within life. It is possible to blow things up beyond all proportions or to reduce it all to insignificance. Generally, though, I think some of the most insignificant aspects of thoughts can open up channels of thinking if we pay attention to detail. Also, I think that we are affected by so much information on a subliminal level. This includes aspects of ideas which we only glance at briefly, including the news.