It is only on very particular occasions, such as when giving a speech, that we first formulate a clear intention internally and then speak it. Most of the time, we don’t know what we’re going to say or do until we do it. We do not go through life with a constantly self-aware inner controller calling the shots. We get to know our own beliefs, thoughts and desires in the same way that we do those of others: by noticing what our words and actions express.
ReadRegular readers might have noticed that I often talk about confronting reality as though that were a good thing. Could it not be a philosopher’s bias to assume that it is better to live in the gloomy shadow of dark truths than in the artificial light of pleasing falsehoods?
ReadPhilosopher Julian Baggini fears that, as we learn more and more about the universe, scientists are becoming increasingly determined to stamp their mark on other disciplines. Here, he challenges theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss over ‘mission creep’ among his peers
ReadIn aesthetic matters, saying that it is only a matter of opinion that Gustav Mahler is better than Bob Marley is at least democratic and non-elitist. But when you take that to its logical conclusion and say that Prokofiev is objectively no better than David Hasselhoff, the eye of the beholder is exposed for the unreliable organ that it is.
Read“On this week’s programme we have two guests: Antonia Macaro and Julian Baggini, the eponymous shrink and sage, whose unique brand of self-help with a distinctly cerebral flavour is a regular feature in the FT Weekend magazine. Antonia Macaro is the shrink, an existential therapist and philosophical counsellor with many years’ experience. And Julian Baggini is the sage, the founding editor of The Philosophers’ Magazine and the author of numerous successful works of popular philosophy, some of which we have previously featured on this programme. Together they aim to bring the insights of philosophy, psychology and therapy to bear on some of the big questions we all grapple with at times in our daily lives.”
Read