About this episode

Michael Ignatieff joins Kate Bowler to discuss the search for meaning in the face of pain and suffering.

Historian and Canadian politician Michael Ignatieff explores the cracks in our seamless worldviews… or at least the worldviews we thought were seamless until we’re faced with tragedies of all kinds. In this wide-ranging exploration, Kate and Michael probe humanity's enduring attempt to console ourselves and construct meaning from our pain. In this conversation, Kate and Michael discuss: Why truth and trust are so important when it comes to finding meaning in our pain The difference between comfort and consolation The limits of stoicism and hyper-futurism What it means to be hopeful The importance of community through pain and suffering Michael does not denigrate anyone’s attempt for comfort, but asks us to look carefully at the consolation that lasts. He asks: What is consolation? And why do we all crave that practice of meaning-making? This episode originally aired March 2023.

People in this episode

Host: Kate Bowler

Guest: Michael Ignatieff

Topics covered

• meaning-making
• consolation
• pain
• community
• truth
• trust

Keywords

• meaning
• consolation
• pain
• community
• truth
• trust
• stoicism
• hope

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Everything Happens Studios

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