ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Simon Critchley is a British philosopher, author, and the Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at The New School for Social Research in New York. One of the most distinctive voices in contemporary philosophy and continental philosophy, his work spans ethics, political philosophy, psychoanalysis, literature, religion, tragedy, death, football (soccer), and the role of philosophy in everyday life. He has written more than twenty books, including The Book of Dead Philosophers, What We Think About When We Think About Soccer, Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us, Mysticism, and Heidegger Thinking: Being and Time Explained. Critchley is known for making complex philosophical ideas accessible, playful, provocative, and relevant beyond academic philosophy.
In this conversation, Simon Critchley explores what mysticism actually means, why modern philosophy has become too serious, and whether mystical experience can exist outside organized religion. We discuss Christian mysticism, incarnation, religious belief, miracles, Martin Luther and the Reformation, Nietzsche’s critique of Christianity, the Übermensch, Kierkegaard, Spinoza’s pantheism, free will, determinism, and why philosophy can offer comfort without providing simple answers. We also examine football (soccer) as a modern religion filled with rituals, gods, collective ecstasy, corruption, tragedy, comedy, suffering, and hope. Finally, we discuss the fear of death, whether philosophy can teach us how to die, technological immortality and the longevity movement, David Hume, professional philosophers, Heidegger’s Being and Time, and why philosophy should remain playful, open, and connected to life.
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