Public philosophy

I take engaging with the wider public to be an important part of philosophy itself.

Living and working in France has allowed me to partake in the country’s public intellectual culture. You can find some of my contributions in popular French publications such as Philosophie magazine (where I interned for 5 months in 2014) and Sciences humaines. These include short articles, book and theater reviews, interviews with philosophers and other public figures, and so on.

Here are some clippings.

“Divergences”
Brief pieces presenting 4 diverging answers from figures in the history of philosophy to everyday questions such as: How to cut a (proverbial) cake fairly? or Why are we polite?

Articles and Reviews
“Is it sufficient for a computer to speak in order for it to think?” with Alexandre Lacroix
Le marxisme analytique. Une introduction critique by Fabien Tarrit (book review)
“Voltaire Rousseau” (theater review)
“Descartes and Pascal Embarked” (theater review)
“Diderot Alive” (theater review of Comme si j’étais à côté de vous)

Interviews
“Un match de box intérieur” With American philosopher John Perry, on motivation, inner conflict, and knowing what we want. (In collaboration with Alexandre Lacroix)

“Marie de Gournay, Les Essais au miroir des femmes,” with English writer and intellectual biographer extraordinaire Sarah Bakewell, author of How to Live: A Life of Montaigne. I ask her about 16th century feminist writer Marie de Gournay, Montaigne’s “fille d’alliance” and editor of the posthumous edition of the Essais. We also talk about Montaigne’s views on women and gender relations and what it’s like reading Montaigne from women’s perspectives.

“Les métamorphoses de Narcisse,” with French specialist in Ancient Greek thought Charles Delattre, about the original meaning of the myth of Narcissus and how it has been interpreted over the centuries. (In collaboration with Martin Legros)