We are famously a nation of animal lovers. And yet our love for animals appears to stop at our pets’ feeding bowls. Interest in free-range meats for humans is growing, but the only animal welfare that seems to count when buying pet foods is that of the beast being fed. Scan the shelves of the pet-food aisle and you’ll struggle to see anything carrying an assurance of higher livestock welfare, such as an RSPCA Freedom Food label or organic certification.
ReadAC Grayling and John Gray are two of Britain’s best-known public philosophers, consistent and relentless in arguing for their respective world views. There, however, the similarities end. Grayling is the approachable, upbeat carrier of the Enlightenment torch, while Gray is the gloomy critic of uplifting myths of human progress and rationality.
ReadTipping challenges the sweeping generalisations of economists and anthropologists alike. To understand how and why we tip is to begin to understand just how complicated and fascinating we human beings are.
ReadSavile was famous, but not only was he a volunteer at Stoke Mandeville, more significantly, he raised £40m for it. Virtue is not only its own reward: it grants you a trust and respectability that some are only too delighted to exploit.
ReadVanity may be unavoidable but it does not mean we must allow it to be our master. By recognising our vanity, we can try to keep it as much at bay as possible and so keep pride in check. If we cannot see the vanity in what we’re doing or deny there is any, we are more likely to fall under its spell. The ultimate vanity is to believe you have none.
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