How to Think Like a Philosopher: Peter Cave on the scholars, dreamers and sages who can teach us how to live

EPISODE 1548: In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to Peter Cave, the author of HOW TO THINK LIKE A PHILOSOPHER, about the scholars, dreamers and sages who can teach us how to live

Peter Cave read philosophy at University College London (UCL) and King's College, Cambridge. He has held lectureships in philosophy at UCL, University of Khartoum, Sudan, and City University London; he was an associate lecturer for many many years at the Open University (and is now Honorary) and New York University (London). Further, he is a principal examiner for the Chartered Insurance Institute. Peter is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Honorary Member of Population Matters, former member of the Council of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and Chair of Humanist Philosophers – and is a Patron of Humanists UK. He is also a keen supporter of the Wigmore Hall and for some years English National Opera (now under unjustified funding cuts). He was elected to The Athenaeum Pall Mall Club in 2007. Author of numerous philosophical papers, both serious and humorous, Peter’s particular interests are paradoxes, ethical matters and life and death dilemmas. He has given guest philosophy lectures at, for example, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Bucharest and has edited collections and written articles for various publications. In previous decades, he was columnist on taxation and money myths for The Investor magazine. Peter has scripted and presented BBC radio philosophy programmes – from a series on the Paradox Fair to more serious ones on John Stuart Mill. He often takes part in public debates on religion, ethics and socio-political matters, in Britain and on the Continent – and believes that one should ‘stand up and be counted’ when faced with some horrors, horrors that are often the result of religious belief or unbridled enthusiasm for capitalism.

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.