Tom Jones (English, St Andrews)  and James Harris (Philosophy, St Andrews) are running a series of workshops on the nature of the philosophical life, supported by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

On Friday 10 February the final workshop of the series will consider whether, and how, professional philosophers think that being a philosopher makes a difference to their everyday lives. Has philosophy turned itself into a profession like any other, with little or no bearing on one’s family life, one’s friendships, one’s social and political allegiances, and so on? Or is there still some truth to the ancient idea that philosophy is a way of living that manifests itself in every significant choice that one makes? Is there a middle-way between these extremes?

We invite philosophers working in Scotland to take part in this discussion. If you are interested, please send a brief indication of how you’d like to approach the issue to:

We will find room on the programme for as many contributions as space and funding permit.

Participants will include Ben Colburn (Glasgow), Beth Lord (Aberdeen), Theron Pummer (St Andrews), Justin Smith (Paris VII) and Thomas Stern (UCL).