Thinking like a philosopher

How do you think like a philosopher? That was the question at the heart of the event at St George’s Bristol that a select number of Fourth Form scholars went to watch. The philosopher and writer Julian Baggini was in conversation with philosopher Rebecca Buxton and psychologist Lisa Bortolotti to examine if there is anything philosophers do differently to other thinkers. This was not a self-aggrandising event though, it was quickly revealed that philosophers are more prone to sexist attitudes as they assume they are not infected by the social mores around them, and this leads to complacency.  

However, there were appealing elements to come out of the talk: one that really landed with the boys was the assertion that philosophers should only work for three hours a day – hard thinking is not sustainable for more than this. 

As the boys had been working all day we took this as our cue to leave and we went for a slap-up meal at Five Guys up the road before heading back to school. This was a well-deserved treat for the scholars' group and one we will be looking to repeat in the future. 

James Crawford, Head of Theology & Philosophy