Street Philosophy

What is philosophy and how can it help us think about questions that matter?

In fifth-century Athens, Socrates discussed ideas with ordinary people in the marketplace. He wanted to get a clear sense of the most important questions people ask about the topics that matter to them, and in particular how we should live. That questioning and debating spirit is still alive in twenty-first century philosophy, though sometimes a little submerged. Philosophy involves a search for truth. Its key method is argument and debate, using evidence and reasoning to arrive at conclusions. It helps people clarify what they believe and why, as well as addressing questions about the limits of what we can meaningfully say and know.

Warburton uses a walk along a city street as a way of framing a series of philosophical explorations and discussions, from questions about the limits of individual responsibility in relation to careless driving, to the question of what makes a stencil-painted mural by Banksy a work of art. Most of these are questions about what we should do, whether in the realm of ethics or political philosophy. The experiences he describes are more or less universal, and the questions that arise from thinking about this sort of public space very quickly get into some of the most interesting and important philosophical questions about how we should live and what we value in life.