Nigel Warburton

Interviews by Nigel Warburton

The best books on Cosmic Purpose, recommended by Philip Goff

The likelihood that intelligent life would come to exist on Earth is so improbable, it’s time to re-explore the idea of cosmic purpose, argues Philip Goff, a professor of philosophy at the University of Durham and the author of Why? The Purpose of the Universe. He recommends five books that cast doubt on our post-Darwinian worldview and help us consider the latest findings of science and philosophy more fully.

Ethics for Artificial Intelligence Books, recommended by Paula Boddington

Advances in artificial intelligence pose a myriad of ethical questions, but the most incisive thinking on this subject says more about humans than it does about machines, says Paula Boddington, philosopher and author of a recent AI ethics textbook. We first spoke to Paula in 2017—a long time ago in a fast-moving field. This week we caught up with her to find out what’s happened since then and which new books have taken the conversation over ethics and AI further.

The best books on How To Think (Like a Philosopher), recommended by Julian Baggini

We all have opinions about things and sometimes quite strong ones. When it comes to our values and politics we also tend to think we’re right. That’s why examining how we think is so important, argues philosopher Julian Baggini. That’s something philosophy can help with, if it’s done well. Here he recommends five books that shed some light on how philosophers think, when they’re thinking at their best.

The Best Cycling Books, recommended by James Hibbard

As a professional cyclist, James Hibbard looked to philosophy to provide some of the answers he was looking for. He describes that quest in his book, The Art of Cycling. Here, he shares some of his own favourite cycling books, from the best cycling novel to the true story of cyclists who aim to ride the entire length of the United Kingdom in 40 hours. These are books that you don’t need to be a professional cyclist or die-hard fan to appreciate.  

The best books on Digital Ethics, recommended by Carissa Véliz

Philosophers have a lot to add to debates about digital technology and the moral issues raised by its rapid rise, argues Carissa Véliz, a professor at the University of Oxford’s Institute for Ethics in AI. Here she talks us through books for the general reader that introduce some of the challenges of digital ethics, from concerns about privacy and bias to the threat to democracy and the future of humanity.  

The best books on Sigmund Freud, recommended by Lisa Appignanesi

Born into a middle-class Jewish family in Moravia in the Austro-Hungarian empire, Sigmund Freud spent most of his life in Vienna, until fleeing to London just before his death in 1939. Using his classical education to illustrate his points, he introduced the idea that we have an ‘unconscious’ that plays an important role in our actions. For his sessions when patients talked freely to him about their thoughts in a one-on-one setting, he coined the term ‘psychoanalysis.’ Freud expert Lisa Appignanesi talks us through books that shed light on his life as well as his work.