All that Matters – Foyles
PHILOSOPHY: ALL THAT MATTERS – LONDON, 4 SEPTEMBER Talking about my new introduction to philosophy (hopefully not the same old[…]
ReadAuthor: Julian Baggini
The Beautiful and the Damned – Manchester
THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE DAMNED – MANCHESTER, 31 AUGUST. A panel discussion with Scottee (artist, performer, director and write) and[…]
ReadIndividuals? Or members of society?
Infractions of personal liberty can be justified when they improve the welfare of individuals on the whole, even when they on occasion diminish the welfare and freedoms of particular people. The argument against assisted suicide on these grounds is not that your doing it directly harms others, but that your having the right to do it requires changing the social ecology in such a way as to diminish the ability of all individuals to thrive in it.
ReadHow well can we know ourselves?
Perhaps what we most need to know ourselves is honesty and humility, which expertise tends to erode rather than strengthen. If that’s the case, then when it comes to self-knowledge, amateurs who are fully aware of their limitations might be better equipped to succeed than over-confident professionals.
ReadHow do you mind the gaps?
In the western world, we fear missing out more than we do excess. Living life to the full means filling it as much as possible, and so spaces are hard to tolerate. The radically counter-cultural view is that it is better to have too little than too much.
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