Philosophers and Dinner Dates

My goodness, two posts in two days… But don’t assume that this is going to be the way of things from here on in: I just thought I’d post to say that there’s a little interview with me over on the Bloomsbury philosophy blog, about Levinas, philosophy, which philosopher I’d like to have over for dinner, and my forthcoming book Levinas, Storytelling and Anti-Storytelling. It’s a chatty, breezy kind of interview. Here’s an extract:

What particular areas of philosophy interest you and why?

As a writer of philosophy (rather than as a reader, where perhaps my interests are more eclectic), I’m particularly interested in ethics. However, I see ethics as being far more than a body of theory. What I’m really interested in are the ways in which it is possible to give shape to human lives and human action, and how it might be possible to live a little more kindly, generously and graciously. Here I don’t think that the Western philosophical tradition has a monopoly, and so I’ve long been interested in other approaches to philosophy, for example those stemming from the Buddhist traditions and, more recently, the rich resources of Chinese thought…

You can read the full interview here. The book is out on Valentine’s day: an ideal gift for that Levinasian significant Other in your life…