More equal than others

Ben Bramble makes a somewhat speculative suggestion that eating meat might cause us unconscious psychological suffering. What he doesn’t consider, though, is that it might be good that there is something troubling in consuming flesh. This isn’t Disneyland and living authentically, as an adult, requires us to embrace fully the bitter-sweet nature of many of our most profound pleasures.

Read

Freedom and Harmony, Intimate and global

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 the Berggruen Philosophy and Culture Centre.

Read

Clean eating and dirty burgers

For as long as we can remember, the British have associated delicious food with depraved indulgence. Anything that tastes good has got to be bad for your body, soul or both. The marketing department of Magnum knew this when it called its 2002 limited edition range the Seven Deadly Sins. Nothing makes a product more enticing than its being naughty, or even better, wicked.

Read