The Examined Life

Ruth Taylor explores how our cultural conditions shape our values and beliefs, revealing how we can build futures where humans and other life forms flourish together on our planet. She illuminates the often invisible narratives that guide our thinking and behavior, showing how these shape everything from our personal happiness to our collective response to global challenges.

• The "values perception gap" - most people prioritize intrinsic values like community and equality, but believe others are more motivated by wealth and status
• Deep narratives like "growth is always good" or "humans are fundamentally selfish" shape our entire approach to social and environmental problems
• Research shows prioritizing intrinsic values leads to greater well-being than pursuing external rewards like wealth and status
• Our society lacks spaces for reflection on values, leaving us vulnerable to constant messaging promoting consumption and competition
• Creating "glimmers" - spaces and experiences that demonstrate alternative ways of living aligned with our deeper human values
• Cultural change requires both individual reflection on our values and structural changes to systems that currently reinforce harmful narratives
• Real change happens at the deepest level, addressing the root cultural conditions rather than just symptoms of problems

Find out more about Ruth's work on her Substack channel Culture Soup, or take her Values 101 course with the Common Cause Foundation.

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What does it mean to live a purposeful life? Is the way you're spending your time truly reflective of your deepest values and aspirations? These questions stand at the heart of my enlightening conversation with William Damon, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and a world-renowned expert on purpose and moral development.

Damon brings decades of research to bear on understanding how purpose shapes our lives, offering a compelling definition that transcends simple personal satisfaction. True purpose, he explains, must be both meaningful to ourselves and consequential to the world beyond ourselves. This dual focus distinguishes purpose from mere ambition or self-interest, creating a pathway to both personal fulfillment and meaningful contribution.

Our discussion explores how purpose evolves across the lifespan, with Damon sharing insights about why approximately 20-25% of people find themselves "drifting" without clear direction. Contrary to popular belief, purpose isn't something we discover in a single moment of clarity, but rather develops gradually through experimentation, feedback, and mentorship. Damon vulnerably shares his own journey of finding purpose through early writing experiences and later through reconciling with his absent father's legacy—a powerful illustration of how understanding our past can illuminate our future direction.

Ready to examine whether your daily activities align with your ultimate concerns? This conversation offers practical wisdom for anyone seeking to live with greater intention and meaning. Subscribe to The Examined Life podcast for more thought-provoking discussions about the questions that matter most.

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What shapes our children's future? Who are they becoming? And why aren't we talking about it more? Katharine Birbalsingh, known as "Britain's strictest headteacher," has a clear vision for the role of school's in shaping the future of Britain.

"Children are the future and families and schools influence who they will become, and we seem to care about neither," she observes with passion that's impossible to ignore. While politicians debate net-zero targets and immigration policies, Katharine argues we're missing something far more urgent – the values being instilled in children today will determine tomorrow's cultural landscape.

At her Michaela Free School in London, Katharine has pioneered an approach that prioritizes character formation alongside academic excellence. She rejects the increasingly popular notion that teaching children boundaries somehow restricts their freedom. Instead, she offers a compelling alternative: structure actually enables maturity and growth. When children understand the difference between right and wrong, they develop the internal resources to resist harmful influences and make positive contributions to society.

This conversation takes us into questions of belonging, personal responsibility, and moral formation. Katharine articulates a vision of education rarely heard in mainstream discourse – one where schools aren't merely credential factories but communities that shape virtuous human beings.  She insists that what matters most isn't test scores but "who they are as people." This isn't empty rhetoric – it's the foundation of her educational philosophy. By cultivating virtues through daily habits, children develop the character that naturally leads to success in all areas of life.

Katharine's perspective seems quite distinct from those espoused in episodes 1 and 3 of this series - which share similar concerns. Where do you stand? Join the conversation on Substack - Positively Maladjusted | kenneth primrose | Substack, or on the youtube channel (1) Examined Life Podcast - YouTube

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If you’re a parent or a teacher, you’ve probably wondered about what the best conditions are for psychological development in children, and where we might have gone so wrong as a society. This week, we talk with psychologist Peter Gray about the developmental needs of children, and why long school days, risk free environments, and too much supervision are wreaking havoc with their psychological development.

Other episodes on parenting/teaching:

Michaeleen Doucleff on the universals of childhood - https://examined-life.com/interviews/michaeleen-doucleffe/

Links:

Peter Gray's Substack - https://petergray.substack.com/

Peter Gray's TED talk on play - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg-GEzM7iTk

Kenny's Substack - https://substack.com/@kennyprimrose?utm_source=user-menu

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Michael Sacasas writes about technology and human flourishing through his wildly popular newsletter The Convivial Society. I have been reading his work for a number of years and find it both winsome and wise. It was delight to have the opportunity to speak to him about a question he thinks we should be asking ourselves.

In this conversation we explore the question of what humans should still do for themselves even when technology can do it better or more efficiently. This conversation challenges our assumptions about technological progress and asks us to consider what makes for a truly good human life.

• Technology often promises efficiency but requires us to question what we might be losing in the process
• Albert Borgman's concept of "focal things" versus "devices" helps us understand what's lost when we automate tasks
• Central heating removed family participation and togetherness that came with maintaining a hearth
• Writing by hand or thinking through drafts teaches us what we think in ways AI writing can't replace
• Even mundane tasks like washing dishes can provide valuable moments for reflection and conversation
• The Amish demonstrate thoughtful technology adoption by evaluating each innovation against community values
• Getting outdoors, learning names of plants and animals, and cooking together builds connection with the world
• Leading with positive practices rather than just limiting technology helps children understand family values
• Face-to-face encounters and "weak ties" with neighbors become increasingly important in our mediated world

If you've found this episode valuable, please subscribe to the podcast and newsletter,  to stay up to date with forthcoming episodes, and read regular reflections on these interviews.

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What if the Western approach to parenting is based on spurious cultural assumptions, not human nature? In this episode, science writer Michaeleen Doucleff takes us inside indigenous communities around the world to reveal what Western parenting gets backwards, as we explore her question - what are the universals of childhood? From the origins of modern parenting in orphanage manuals to the power of kids contributing to real family life, we explore what children actually need to thrive — and how small shifts can create big changes in connection, confidence, and calm at home.

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In this summary episode, we take the theme of attention which runs through most of conversations in the second season. In the episode you'll hear fragments of conversation from Iain McGilchrist, Dacher Keltner, Dougald Hine, Phoebe Tickell, Alex Evans, Elizabeth Oldfield, Jill Bolte-Taylor, Eve Poole and Todd Kashdan. Over this short episode, you'll hear discussion of a wide range of topics, from religion,  AI and smartphones, to the role of awe and imagination.

Click here to access any of the podcast episodes in full - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-examined-life/id1680728280

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This is a distilled version of last year's conversation with the writer Oliver Burkeman. In it, you'll hear Oliver talk about our troubled relationship with time and how to more fully inhabit it.

Oliver believes our obsession with productivity and efficiency is no route to happiness, quite the opposite. In order to inhabit time more fully, we need to embrace our limitations. This will mean admitting that however many worthwhile ways there are to spend our time, we can't do them all. This is a liberating fact, and can help us enjoy those things we have committed to all the more.

Oliver's new book Meditations for Mortals is now available to buy, and focuses on helpful ways to resist the culture of efficiency, and embrace our finitude more fully.

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Phoebe Tickell is a biologist, systems thinker, and 'imagination activist'. Phoebe works across multiple contexts applying a complexity and systems thinking lens and engaging people in how to think differently about the planet and its problems. In 2020 Phoebe created 'Moral Imaginations', which researches and implements collective imagination exercises and training to inspire change and find new solutions in an era of unprecedented disruption and potential for transformation.

In this episode we explore the ways in which western culture has shaped the way we think and approach the problems of our day. Phoebe suggests that taking a step back and questioning received wisdom might provide more promising solutions to the crises we are currently facing.

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What do we lack when we lack religion? In this episode Alex Evans explores the role that religion has historically played in both collective and individual life, and the shape it leaves behind when it disappears. The stories that we locate ourselves within and the rituals they enshrine, are formative in the way we attend to the world. Religion has historically provided the structure for this work, and its absence leaves a vacuum. The conversation explores the various pretenders to the religious throne, any why many of them fall short. 

Alex works at the intersection of where the state of our minds meets the state of the world, and the way these influence one another. His organisation Larger Us is seeks to drive positive change address the crises of our day by bringing people together, you can find out more on their website - www.larger.us.

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