Philosophy bites again

296 Pages·2014·0.99 MB·English

by  Edmonds

PHILOSOPHY BITES AGAIN

PHILOSOPHY
BITES AGAIN
DAVID EDMONDS &
NIGEL WARBURTON
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom
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© David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton 2014
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First Edition published in 2014
Impression: 1
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2014936064
ISBN 978–0–19–870269–6
ebook ISBN 978–0–19–100725–5
Printed in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc

PREFACE
Philosophy Bites Again is the third volume of interviews based on our popular audio
podcast ‘Philosophy Bites’. We are still amazed and delighted by the number of
enthusiastic listeners this series has worldwide.
As with the earlier books, Philosophy Bites and Philosophy Bites Back, these are not
verbatim transcripts of audio: in collaboration with the interviewees, we’ve adapted the
interviews so that they work on the page. For some interviews, this has resulted in only
minor tweaks; for others, the interviewees have suggested significant changes.
Philosophy Bites Back focused on the ideas of great dead philosophers, from
Socrates to Derrida. This book returns to the format of the first, with topic-based
interviews grouped under various themes.
We’ve opened with a compilation of responses to the question, ‘Who is the most
impressive philosopher you’ve met?’ We sprang this question on our unsuspecting
interviewees while making the series: these answers too have been edited for the book.
We launched Philosophy Bites in 2007, and since then we’ve made five spin-off
series:
▪ Ethics Bites <http://www.open.edu/openlearn/whats-on/ethics-bites>;
▪ Bioethics Bites <http://www.neuroethics.ox.ac.uk/bio-ethics_bites>;
▪ Multiculturalism Bites <http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/multiculturalism-bites>;
▪ Free Speech Bites <http://www.freespeechbites.com>; and
▪ Social Science Bites <http://www.socialsciencebites.com>.
We would like to thank the Open University for permission to use the Nancy Fraser and
Sue Mendus interviews, which first appeared in the Multiculturalism Bites series. The
Jeff McMahan interview is from Bioethics Bites, for which we received a grant from the
Wellcome Trust.
But Philosophy Bites is parent to them all. At the time of going to press, we have
conducted around 260 interviews and have had 21 million downloads. That success is
largely down to the high quality of our contributors. For us, at least, the series continues
to be both hugely enjoyable and educational. It’s been a privilege to meet so many of
the world’s leading philosophers, and to receive what amounts to private individual
tuition on such a broad range of topics. Most of the people we have interviewed have
been inspirational not just in the content of what they say, but in their contagious
enthusiasm for thinking and ideas.
We have conducted many of our interviews at The Institute of Philosophy, part of
London University—thanks to Shahrar Ali and Barry Smith for arranging that. For a
few of our interviews we have used office space at Oxford’s Uehiro Centre for Practical
Ethics, and would like to thank Rachel Gaminiratne, Nailya Nikitenko, Deborah
Sheehan, and Miriam Wood, and the Director, Julian Savulescu. We would also like to
thank Charles Styles, Hannah Warburton, Mollie Williamson, and Katrina Woolley for
transcribing the interviews, and Hannah Edmonds for performing her traditional
proofreading role. At the time of writing, Philosophy Bites the podcast series is self-
funded; we are extremely grateful for donations that have come in via our website at
<http://www.philosophybites.com>, which have allowed us to keep on releasing
episodes on a fortnightly basis.
Thanks to our partners Anna Motz and Liz Edmonds for putting up with our
obsession with Philosophy Bites. The last time we dedicated a book in this series it was
to three children. Another one has appeared on the scene. So this book is for Hannah,
Joshua, Saul, and Isaac.
David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton
<http://www.philosophybites.com>
<http://www.twitter.com/philosophybites>