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We don't normally think of political leaders as philosophers.

The philosopher George W Bush sounds like an oxymoron.

Richard Serubji is a distinguished professor who built a considerable

reputation studying the philosophers of ancient Greece. But he's now turned his attention

to the ideas of a figure who achieved prominence in the 20th century,

the man who led India to independence from Britain, Mahatma Gandhi.

Richard Thirabji, welcome to Philosophy Bites.

Thank you very much for asking me.

We're going to be talking about Mahatma Gandhi as a philosopher.

Now, most people think of him as a political leader,

somebody who managed to bring about independence in India, not so much as a philosopher.

What makes him a philosopher?

I think we'll see more clearly when we've talked a little bit about him, how philosophical

his arguments are. Just for now I'll say that he subjects his views

to criticism on a scale that is unmatched by any other philosopher I know, and I think that's one of the marks of a really good philosopher.

He's famous as an exponent and theorist of nonviolence.

Could you say a little bit about that to begin with?

Yes, he believed in nonviolent resistance

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