A. C. Grayling

English philosopher · United Kingdom · On the map · Academics · Born 1949 · age 77

Anthony Clifford Grayling is a British philosopher and author. He was born in Northern Rhodesia and spent most of his childhood there and in Nyasaland. Until June 2011, he was Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London, where he taught from 1991.

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A life in dates

2016Commander of the Order of the British EmpireAward2006Fellow of the Royal Society of LiteratureAward2002“Of all the questions we can ask ourselves the most important is: how is one best to live?”In their words“Introduction” (p. xi)Read the whole statement

“The media no longer hesitate to whip up lurid anxieties in order to increase sales, in the process undermining social confidence and multiplying fears.”In their wordsChapter 2, “Moral Education” (p. 7)Read the whole statement

“New and challenging moral dilemmas are always likely to arise, so we need to try to make ourselves the kind of people who can respond thoughtfully.”In their wordsChapter 2, “Moral Education” (p. 10)Read the whole statement

“The claim is that educating moral sensibility through imagination has a general tendency, not a universal effect.”In their wordsChapter 3, “Emancipation and Ethics” (p. 14)Read the whole statement

“Worst of all, symbols sometimes live on in their own right when what they symbolise has long been forgotten.”In their wordsChapter 4, “Symbols” (p. 19)Read the whole statement

“Four kinds of answer are standardly given to the question why religion exists.”In their wordsChapter 5, “Religion” (p. 20)Read the whole statement

1949Born3 April 1949

People around A. C. Grayling

Family

Father Henry Clifford Grayling

A. C. Grayling

Partners

Spouse Katie Hickman

Child Madeleine Catherine Jennifer Grayling

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In their own words 4

A. C. Grayling

4 statements, newest first

A civilized society is one which never ceases having a discussion with itself about what human life should best be.
2002 · “Introduction” (p. xiii), Own words
Moral panics occur because the increased availability of information about what happens in our society is not matched by a public capacity to reflect upon and make sense of it.
2002 · Chapter 2, “Moral Education” (pp. 7-8), Own words
Symbols have the unfortunate power to acquire the importance of what they symbolise.
2002 · Chapter 4, “Symbols” (p. 19), Own words

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Awards

Commander of the Order of the British Empire2016

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature2006

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

About this person

In 2011 he founded and became the first Master of New College of the Humanities, an independent undergraduate college in London. He is also a supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford, where he formerly taught.

Country

United Kingdom