The Philosophy of Living Well

Liberalism – a value system that prioritises equality, reciprocity, tolerance, and fairness – is under attack from all sides. In this episode, Luke Russell and Alex Lefebvre consider whether liberalism could count as a free-standing and defensible conception of the good life. They examine the relationship between liberal values and other things that matter, including knowledge and achievement, and they explore the tensions that can arise within liberalism itself.

Everyone hopes to find happiness, but what is that they are seeking? In this episode, Luke Russell and Caroline West discuss the difference between feeling good and living well, and explain some of the ways in which we fail to predict what will make us happy. They also consider whether it would ever make sense to choose a more meaningful life over a happier life.

Victims of wrongdoing are frequently encouraged to forgive and move on, but we seldom pause to ask what forgiveness amounts to. In this episode, Luke Russell and guest Glen Pettigrove discuss why forgiveness is beneficial, and ponder the question as to whether sometimes it might be too dangerous to forgive. The episode also looks at the connection between forgiveness and love, and asks whether it makes sense to forgive someone for blamelessly breaking your heart.

Self-help gurus often recommend that you stop blaming yourself. In this episode, Luke Russell and Hannah Tierney ask whether this really is good advice. They outline the nature of self-blame, explore the ways in which it can become dysfunctional, and try to figure out when blaming yourself might help you to repair the damage done by your own wrongdoing.