Julian Baggini
Julian Baggini
Julian Bagginiis a British philosopher, and the author of several books about philosophy written for a general audience. He wrote The Pig that Wants to be Eaten and 99 other thought experiments and is co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Philosophers' Magazine...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionAuthor
stress struggle mean
Stress means something different if it is the result of rewarding work rather than struggling to keep the family out of debt.
prayer believe responsibility
Prayer provides an opportunity to remind oneself of how one should be living, our responsibilities to others, our own failings, and our relative good fortune, should we have it. This is, I think, a pretty worthwhile practice and it is not something you can only do if you believe you are talking to an unseen creator.
healthy mind obfuscation
The mark of a mature, psychologically healthy mind is indeed the ability to live with uncertainty and ambiguity, but only as much as there really is. Uncertainty is no virtue when the facts are clear, and ambiguity is mere obfuscation when more precise terms are applicable.
humility humble deeds
True humility is expressed in deeds, not words. The humble are those who truly walk the same ground as everyone else - not necessarily with grovelling, hunched backs, but certainly not lording it over others, either.
lazy hue spotlight
Untested assumptions and lazy habits of thought can be shown up, once put in a spotlight of a different hue.
believe choices shapes
You don't choose what you believe moment to moment, but choices you have made do shape what you come to believe.
way assuming reason
No one has ever understood anything better by assuming that there is no reason for why it is the way it is.
technology ideas mind
The idea that the mind can extend even beyond the body is an intriguing one, and is bound to become more pressing as we increasingly develop technologies that augment our natural abilities.
real believe progress
The optimist underestimates how difficult it is to achieve real change, believing that anything is possible and it's possible now. Only by confronting head-on the reality that all progress is going to be obstructed by vested interests and corrupted by human venality can we create realistic programmes that actually have a chance of success.
thinking charity modesty
I don't think anyone who genuinely embraced sincerity, charity and modesty could be intolerant or divisive.
vices moral judgmental
The greatest moral failing is to condemn something as a moral failing: no vice is worse than being judgmental.
answers reason natural
Even if we can agree that some things are natural and some are not, what follows from this? The answer is: nothing. There is no factual reason to suppose that what is natural is good (or at least better) and what is unnatural is bad (or at least worse).
atheist second-chance redemption
Atheists have to live with the knowledge that there is no salvation, no redemption, no second chances. Lives can go terribly wrong in ways that can never be put right.