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Leading philosophers on bite-sized topics, from wine to the meaning of life. The Philosophy Bites podcast was set up in 2007 and has, to date, had 5 million downloads. This is a selection of some of the best interviews, and will appeal to a broad readership.
Synopsis
Philosophy Bites is a selection of the best interviews from the hugely successful podcast of the same name. Leading philosophers discuss a wide range of philosophical issues, from ethics to aesthetics to metaphysics, in a lively, informal, personal way. Time, infinity, evil, friendship, animals, wine, sport, tragedy - all human life is here.
Book Details
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Publication Date:
12-Aug-2010
ISBN:
9780199576326
Guardian review
Philosophy Bites by David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton review
the guardian Tue 24 January 2012
The authors of this collection of 25 interviews with leading philosophers contend that "the spirit of philosophy is at its most apparent in conversation". These condensed transcripts began life as a series of audio podcasts for the authors' website. They are admirably wide-ranging. Simon Blackburn makes a powerful case against moral relativism; Anne Phillips argues for a "multiculturalism without culture" (ie without cultural stereotypes); Don Cupitt explains his non-realist view of God ("God doesn't exist apart from our faith in him"); John Cottingham tackles a subject most philosophers ignore: the meaning of life ("the first step towards meaningfulness is humility acknowledging the fact of our dependency"); and AW Moore brilliantly explains the biggest concept of all infinity, and suggests our fascination with it stems from our need to answer the ancient question: "How do we fit in?" Some of these bite-sized discussions are too brief to do justice to the topics, but this is an excellent sampler of key philosophical issues: succinct and enlightening.