Advertise on podcast: Microphilosophy with Julian Baggini

I was very saddened to hear of the death of photographer Martin Parr on the 6th of December last year. Parr had a singular, signature style which defied low-brow / high-brow distinctions. In 2011 I interviewed Parr at an event tied in to an exhibition of his work at Bristol's M Shed. I dug out the recording, which has never been released, and have edited for this special microphilosophy podcast. Listening to it, I'm not convinced I asked the best questions but Parr always gave very interesting answers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julian Baggini and guests Myisha Cherry and Catarina Dutilh Novaes explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. Their focus today is on the role of anger in thinking and the need to defer to others. They take as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julian Baggini and guests Simon Kirchin and Anil Seth explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. Their focus today is on the problems of "reification" – thinking of concepts as though they were things – and anthropomorphism, and finding the balance between confidence and humility in your own ideas, practices and arguments. They take as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julian Baggini and guests Nilanjan Das and Leah Kalmanson explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. Their focus today is on the value of contemplative practices, and shifting the burden of proof. They take as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re at the midpoint of series five of Microphilosophy, in which I’ve been discussing the habits and virtues of highly effective thinkers with guest philosophers. We’ll be resuming these episodes after the easter break. For now, here’s a recording of an experimental live stand up philosophy performance that has been sitting in my archive for several years. Whereas the series so far has been about how to think like a good philosopher, this one explores what happens if you apply philosophical methods in wildly inappropriate and opportunistic ways..  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julian Baggini and guests Clare Chambers and Lucy O'Brien explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. Their focus today is on the principles of charity and sincerity, and the need to abide in uncertainty. They take as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julian Baggini and guests Peter Adamson and Tom Kasulis explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. Their focus today is on how to use thought experiments and being misled by concepts. They take as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julian Baggini and guests Patricia Churchland and Owen Flanagan explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. Their focus today is on following the facts, without assuming they speak for themselves. They take as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this discussion recorded live at St Georges, Bristol, philosopher Julian Baggini and guests Lisa Bortolotti and Rebecca Buxton explore how the exemplary habits and principles of the best philosophers can help us to think better. They took as their cue Baggini’s new book How to Think Like a Philosopher, in which he offers 12 key principles for a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking. Event produced by Bristol Ideas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This edition was dropped the week that the legendary guitarist Wilko Johnson died, aged 75. Back in February 2014 I interviewed Wilko at the Giants of Rock Festival in Minehead. We talked about getting old but continuing to rock, a life-affirming choice Wilko and his mostly middle-aged audience both made with glee. The interview wasn’t recorded for broadcast so its backstage, rough-and-ready aesthetic is by accident not design. But I think the informality of the conversation makes a welcome change and gives a good sense of the man himself. Johnson rose to fame with the band Dr Feelgood in the 1970s. He continued to play with various bands after leaving the Feelgoods in 1977.  In January 2013 he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given less than a year to live. He threw himself into touring and a year later when we spoke he was still going strong. At the Giants of Rock Festival he was playing with his long-term sidekick, bass legend Norman Watt-Roy and drummer Dylan Howe. Listen to this and tell me Wilko’s not a philosopher. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I talked to Will Gregory and Graham Fitkin when they visited St Georges in Bristol in 2018 to perform with Will Gregory’s Moog Ensemble, Will Gregory is best known as half of Goldfrapp and is also a composer and producer. Graham Fitkin a composer, pianist and conductor best known for his minimalist and postminimalist work.  Our conversation contains gems for both synth geeks and those like me who don’t know much except what we like. And if you’re thinking what has this got to do with philosophy?, just take a listen and if you’re still asking by the end, I’d suggest your conception of philosophy might be too narrow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode features another Philosophy salon recorded live pre-Covid at St George’s in Bristol. This time, we’re talking about the perhaps unlikely and surprising connections between philosophy and … cycling. I was sceptical too but after talking with activist, writer and self-described “outdoor philosopher” Kate Rawles and writer and musician Jet MacDonald, I was converted, and I hope you will be too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our tumultuous times, is anarchism a fate to be dreaded or could it actually be part of the solution? In her definitive history of anarchism The Government of No One, Ruth Kinna argues that anarchism in various forms has made a series of challenging contributions to political thought rooted in a belief in freedom and working towards collective good without the interference of the state. She is in conversation with Julian Baggini and Nathan Eisenstadt (Bristol University). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonathan Rée rejects the ‘condescending smugness’ of traditional histories of philosophy. In his new history of philosophy in English Witcraft he abandons the standard, tired narratives and presents the history of philosophy as a haphazard series of unmapped forest paths, a mass of individual stories showing endurance, inventiveness, bewilderment, anxiety, impatience, and good humor. Expect the same from this conversation with Julian Baggini, Rée and Andrew Pyle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This was recorded at one of my series of Philosophy Salons at St Georges, Bristol. My guests were Kate Kirkpatrick, the author of the biography Becoming Beauvoir: and Jonathan Webber, author of Rethinking Existentialism. We covered a lot of ground, including the nature and degree of human freedom, whether existentialism was capable of grounding a credible ethics and the revealing differences between Jean-Paul Sartre and Simon de Beavoir’s versions of existentialism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.