Ramona Koval: Let's start by reminding us all about Mr Hercules and what his story was.ĪC Grayling: He's quite a character. Anthony Grayling is in the London studios of the BBC. He's written books, and one of them was the one that started this idea to speak with him on The Book Show, it's called The Choice of Hercules: Pleasure, Duty and the Good Life in the 21st Century. He's said, 'Religious beliefs of all kind shares the same intellectual respectability, evidential base and rationality as the belief in the existence of fairies,' which means he's been wrestling with those who disagree with him for quite a time. He's a strong critic of those with strong religious beliefs that try and run the moral and political agendas for the rest of us. He's the editor of Online Review, contributing editor to Prospect magazine, and he writes for many newspapers as well. There he's a member of the World Economic Forum's Council for Western Muslim Understanding. So he's been a judge of the Booker Prize, he's involved in UN human rights initiatives, and the World Economic Forum. He once said, 'Not drawing philosophers into public discussion is like having doctors but not employing them in hospitals.' He's Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College at the University of London, but he's the kind of philosopher who thinks it's important to bring the fruits of philosophical thinking out of the universities and into the public space. Ramona Koval: My guest is AC Grayling, who you might have heard over the years talking philosophy on television and radio and in the press.

Ac grayling the history of philosophy