Episode 34: Simon Critchley

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Simon Critchley's curiosity is on steroids, and that curiosity, love of learning, and genuine interest in other people fuel his moxie. In this episode, we explore with Simon the role of philosophy in creating moxie. He shares his wisdom on how we have more in common than we think and how forming alliances and relationships based on those commonalities allows us to learn from others rather than judge them. 

He explains that to philosophize is to take time and resist busyness. It’s about looking up and taking in the spaciousness around us with openness and without judgment. Cultivating a curious mindset is worthwhile work; putting down our tech and forming connections is imperative to our humanity.

Simon is the Hans Jonas Professor at The New School in New York City, where he teaches philosophy. 

He writes prolifically on a wide range of topics. His books include Very Little…Almost Nothing (1997), Infinitely Demanding (2007), The Book of Dead Philosophers (2009), and The Faith of the Faithless (2012). Simon has also written a novella, Memory Theatre (2015), a book-length essay, Notes on Suicide (2020), and studies of David Bowie, Football, and Apply-Degger (Onassis, 2020). More recent books are Tragedy, The Greeks and Us (Pantheon, 2019), and Bald (Yale, 2021). 

Simon was the series moderator of ‘The Stone,’ a philosophy column in The New York Times, and co-editor of three volumes connected to the series, most recently Question Everything (2022). 

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Onassis Foundation and also 50 percent of an obscure musical combo called Critchley & Simmons. A book called Mysticism will be published by The New York Review of Books in 2024.

An ardent lover of the Beautiful Game, Simon is a dedicated fan of Liverpool FC.

This episode of Main Street Moxie is proudly sponsored by Elyse Harney Real Estate and Kindred Property Care.

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