John Gray on Pessimism, Liberalism, and Theism
Conversations with Tyler
Conversations with Tyler
4.8 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 29 November 2023
⏱️ 62 minutes
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Summary
John Gray is a philosopher and writer renowned for his critical examination of liberalism, atheism, and the human condition. His unique perspective is shaped over a decades-long career, during which he has authored influential books on topics ranging from political theory to what we can learn from cats about on how to live a good life. His latest book, The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism, delivers a provocative examination of the 2020s' political landscape, challenges liberal triumphalism with a realistic critique of ongoing global crises and the persistent allure of human delusions.
Tyler and John sat down to discuss his latest book, including who he thinks will carry on his work, what young people should learn if liberalism is dead, whether modern physics allows for true atheism, what in Eastern Orthodoxy attracts him, the benefits of pessimism, what philanthropic cause he’d invest a billion dollars in, under what circumstances he’d sacrifice his life, what he makes of UFOs, the current renaissance in film and books, whether Monty Python is still funny, how Herman Melville influenced him, who first spotted his talent, his most unusual work habit, what he’ll do next, and more.
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Recorded October 24th, 2023.
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| 0:00.0 | Hi everyone this is Jeff one of the producers of Conversations with Tyler. |
| 0:08.0 | As the year draws to a close I hope you've enjoyed listening to and learning from the podcast as much as me and the team have enjoyed producing the episodes. |
| 0:18.0 | This has been an especially fun year for me with the Marg revolution 20th anniversary episode meeting some of |
| 0:24.8 | you earlier this year at our first listener meetup in San Francisco and at the moment I am |
| 0:29.4 | prepping for our 2023 retrospective which is one of the most fun things I get to do all year. |
| 0:34.8 | And because this is year-end, it's the one time we ask that if you have benefited from the |
| 0:40.4 | podcast to please consider making a financial contribution before the end of the year |
| 0:45.2 | at Conversations with Tyler.com slash donate. This year we're offering two special incentives. |
| 0:52.6 | The first is transcript sponsorship. |
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| 1:03.6 | pleasure to read as possible. So if you are one of the first 24 listeners to donate |
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| 1:15.2 | transcripts we release next year. |
| 1:17.7 | The second incentive is an exclusive AMA with Tyler, me, and a small group of your fellow listeners. |
| 1:24.8 | So for those of you were able to make a one-time donation of $1,000 or more by January 1st, |
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