This book comprises the complete essays from the Philosophy Crush podcast, a miscellany of reflections and intellectual venturings that hold some relevance for our times. With topics ranging from “Philosophy as a way of life” to “Bring back the existentialists,” “The importance of reading books,” “Free speech 101,” “What makes innovation possible?,” “The individual against the mass,” “Where are we going?,” “The search for meaning,” and “Why is Bob Dylan the greatest songwriter?,” the 75 essays that make up this book are “essais” in Montaigne’s sense—“attempts,” with an emphasis on brevity, subjectivity, and accessibility to a general audience.

Paul Fairfield is Professor of Philosophy at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. He is the author of numerous books, including most recently Philosophical Reflections on Antiquity, Artistic Creation (with J. Mitscherling), and Teachability and Learnability.