Julian Baggini and guests Myisha Cherry and Catarina Dutilh Novaes explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. Their focus today is on the role of anger in thinking and the need to defer to others. They take as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julian Baggini and guests Simon Kirchin and Anil Seth explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. Their focus today is on the problems of "reification" – thinking of concepts as though they were things – and anthropomorphism, and finding the balance between confidence and humility in your own ideas, practices and arguments. They take as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles...

Julian Baggini and guests Nilanjan Das and Leah Kalmanson explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. Their focus today is on the value of contemplative practices, and shifting the burden of proof. They take as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re at the midpoint of series five of Microphilosophy, in which I’ve been discussing the habits and virtues of highly effective thinkers with guest philosophers. We’ll be resuming these episodes after the easter break. For now, here’s a recording of an experimental live stand up philosophy performance that has been sitting in my archive for several years. Whereas the series so far has been about how to think like a good philosopher, this one explores what happens if you apply philosophical...

Julian Baggini and guests Clare Chambers and Lucy O'Brien explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. Their focus today is on the principles of charity and sincerity, and the need to abide in uncertainty. They take as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julian Baggini and guests Peter Adamson and Tom Kasulis explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. Their focus today is on how to use thought experiments and being misled by concepts. They take as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julian Baggini and guests Patricia Churchland and Owen Flanagan explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. Their focus today is on following the facts, without assuming they speak for themselves. They take as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this discussion recorded live at St Georges, Bristol, philosopher Julian Baggini and guests Lisa Bortolotti and Rebecca Buxton explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. They took as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Event produced by Bristol Ideas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

This edition was dropped the week that the legendary guitarist Wilko Johnson died, aged 75. Back in February 2014 I interviewed Wilko at the Giants of Rock Festival in Minehead. We talked about getting old but continuing to rock, a life-affirming choice Wilko and his mostly middle-aged audience both made with glee. The interview wasn’t recorded for broadcast so its backstage, rough-and-ready aesthetic is by accident not design. But I think the informality of the conversation makes a welcome...

I talked to Will Gregory and Graham Fitkin when they visited St Georges in Bristol in 2018 to perform with Will Gregory’s Moog Ensemble, Will Gregory is best known as half of Goldfrapp and is also a composer and producer. Graham Fitkin a composer, pianist and conductor best known for his minimalist and postminimalist work.  Our conversation contains gems for both synth geeks and those like me who don’t know much except what we like. And if you’re thinking what has this got to do with...

Today’s episode features another Philosophy salon recorded live pre-Covid at St George’s in Bristol. This time, we’re talking about the perhaps unlikely and surprising connections between philosophy and … cycling. I was sceptical too but after talking with activist, writer and self-described “outdoor philosopher” Kate Rawles and writer and musician Jet MacDonald, I was converted, and I hope you will be too. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In our tumultuous times, is anarchism a fate to be dreaded or could it actually be part of the solution? In her definitive history of anarchism The Government of No One, Ruth Kinna argues that anarchism in various forms has made a series of challenging contributions to political thought rooted in a belief in freedom and working towards collective good without the interference of the state. She is in conversation with Julian Baggini and Nathan Eisenstadt (Bristol University). See...

Jonathan Rée rejects the ‘condescending smugness’ of traditional histories of philosophy. In his new history of philosophy in English Witcraft he abandons the standard, tired narratives and presents the history of philosophy as a haphazard series of unmapped forest paths, a mass of individual stories showing endurance, inventiveness, bewilderment, anxiety, impatience, and good humor. Expect the same from this conversation with Julian Baggini, Rée and Andrew Pyle. See acast.com/privacy for...

This was recorded at one of my series of Philosophy Salons at St Georges, Bristol. My guests were Kate Kirkpatrick, the author of the biography Becoming Beauvoir: and Jonathan Webber, author of Rethinking Existentialism. We covered a lot of ground, including the nature and degree of human freedom, whether existentialism was capable of grounding a credible ethics and the revealing differences between Jean-Paul Sartre and Simon de Beavoir’s versions of existentialism. See acast.com/privacy for...

Bryan van Norden and Jin Y. Park are two of the world’s leading philosophers working at the intersection of east and west. Park’s book Buddhism and Postmodernity combines Zen and Huayan Buddhism with Continental philosophy, while van Norden’s book Taking Back Philosophy: A Multicultural Manifesto has challenged western philosophers to open their minds and doors to other traditions. In discussion with Julian Baggini they talk about what we can learn from Asian thought and the obstacles to...

In 2021 I facilitated a lengthy discussion between two philosophers who take different views on the best way to advance trans rights about why the debate is such a fraught one, Catarina Dutilh Novaes and Mary Leng. This is the third and final part. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

n 2021 I facilitated a lengthy discussion between two philosophers who take different views on the best way to advance trans rights about why the debate is such a fraught one, Catarina Dutilh Novaes and Mary Leng.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 2021 I facilitated a lengthy discussion between two philosophers who take different views on the best way to advance trans rights about why the debate is such a fraught one, Catarina Dutilh Novaes and Mary Leng. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In many ways medieval Islamic philosophy and the works of Friedrich Neitzsche couldn’t be more different. But as we see in this podcast, both provide interesting, rich challenges to modern western egalitarian ideals. Guests are Carlos Fraenkel (McGill University) and Mathias Risse (Harvard Kennedy School of Government). Produced in association with the Berggruen Institute’s Philosophy and Culture Centre. Audio Player See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Harmony is as core a value in classical Chinese thought as Freedom is in the modern west and it is often thought that the two conflict, with major political implications. However, the three broadly Confucian scholars in this episode deny there is a fundamental conflict between freedom and harmony. They are Shenyang Li ( Nanyang Technological University), Anna Sun (Kenyon College) and David B. Wong (Duke University). Produced in association with the Berggruen Institute’s Philosophy and Culture...

The third podcast in a series examining the relationship and tensions between hierarchy and equality sees three very different scholars all with roots in China asking us to rethink hierarchy through the lenses of history, economics, feminism, daoism, mathematics and artificial intelligence. My guests are Jiang Qian (independent scholar), Robin R. Wang (Professor of Philosophy and Director of Asian Pacific Studies at Loyola Marymount University) and Taisu Zhang (Associate Professor at the Yale...

This is the second podcast in a series examining the theme of the relationship and tensions between hierarchy and equality. This episode looks at Confucian perspectives on the issues. My guests are Stephen C. Angle, Mansfield Freeman Professor of East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University; Joseph C.W. Chan, professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration, The University of Hong Kong; Michael Puett, Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History at Harvard University and Justin...

This is the second podcast in a series examining the theme of the relationship and tensions between harmony and freedom. This episode approaches this issue from the intimate to the global. My guests are  Philip Pettit, L.S. Rockefeller University Professor of Politics and Human Values at Princeton University; Sigridur Thorgeirsdottir, professor of philosophy at the University of Iceland; and Leif Wenar, Chair of Philosophy and Law at King's College London. Produced in association with...

Are freedom and harmony political goals that complement or compete with each other? Joining me are Rajeev Bhargava, Director of the Institute of Indian Thought at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies; Anton Koch, professor of philosophy at the University of Heidelberg; and Thaddeus Metz, Distinguished Professor at the University of Johannesburg. Produced in association with the Berggruen Philosophy and Culture Centre.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.