The Philosophy of Living Well

Do you divide your friends into tiers or levels? If so, what does it take to get into the first tier, to count as a close friend? In this episode, Luke Russell discusses the nature of friendship with Associate Professor Sam Shpall from the University of Sydney. They ask what makes friendships so valuable, and whether it is possible to live a good life without having any friends. Associate Professor Shpall also explores the rivalrous friendship that is at the heart of the Neapolitan Quartet of novels written by Elena Ferrante.

In what sense is forgiveness a choice? Is forgiving something that is under the victim’s voluntary control, or do some victims find themselves unable to forgive, no matter how hard they try? Guest Professor Lucy Allais, a philosopher who holds academic positions at both the University of the Witwatersrand and Johns Hopkins University, discusses whether we should always choose to forgive those who have wronged us. To highlight this issue, Professor Allais tries to make sense of June Steenkamp’s decision to forgive Oscar Pistorius – the man who murdered her daughter – despite June knowing full well that Oscar remains unapologetic and unrepentant.

Victims of wrongdoing are frequently encouraged to forgive and move on, but we seldom pause to ask what forgiveness amounts to. In this episode, Luke Russell and guest Glen Pettigrove discuss why forgiveness is beneficial, and ponder the question as to whether sometimes it might be too dangerous to forgive. The episode also looks at the connection between forgiveness and love, and asks whether it makes sense to forgive someone for blamelessly breaking your heart.

Self-help gurus often recommend that you stop blaming yourself. In this episode, Luke Russell and Hannah Tierney ask whether this really is good advice. They outline the nature of self-blame, explore the ways in which it can become dysfunctional, and try to figure out when blaming yourself might help you to repair the damage done by your own wrongdoing.