One of the problems raised in the book is Mill’s now famous question about whether it is better to be a Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. We might equally well ask if an imperfect example of something daringly original is superior to a perfect example of something more mundane. How you answer that will determine whether you prefer the honourably flawed A Good Life or the more routine competence of less ambitious philosophers.
ReadUniversities and other bodies that stand for values worth defending diminish their prestige if they effectively sell off parts of themselves to the highest bidder. Of course you cannot stop philanthropists gaining in stature because of their gifts. But there is a difference between bathing in a reflected glory that shines without cost and being deliberately singled out in a floodlight, which is what the granting of naming rights does.
ReadIn the crude Manichean world view that has come to characterise political discourse today, you are either a skiver or a striver, someone who contributes to society or is parasitic on it. All parties claim to speak for “hard-working families”, the only people whose interests need defending.
ReadSomething has changed and that appears to be an increased desire to choose what is best for ourselves with scant regard for what is best for the wider community as a whole. And this seems equally true of too many left-leaning middle class parents who join the chorus decrying selfish individualism and advocating collective solidarity, even while taking off on their mid-term holiday.
ReadSimply accepting that there are no ultimate grounds for anything looks like a cop-out. Surely, we must have some good reason to trust the firmness of the ground on which we stand, intellectually?
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