HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Anthony Clifford Grayling (; born 3 April 1949) is a British
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
. He was born in
Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...
(now
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
) and spent most of his childhood there and in Nyasaland (now
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
). In 2011 he founded and became the first Master of
New College of the Humanities New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
, an independent undergraduate college in London. Until June 2011, he was Professor of Philosophy at
Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...
, where he taught from 1991. He is also a
supernumerary Supernumerary means "exceeding the usual number". Supernumerary may also refer to: * Supernumerary actor, a performer in a film, television show, or stage production who has no role or purpose other than to appear in the background, more commonl ...
fellow of
St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. It has some 450 undergraduate and 200 ...
, where he formerly taught. Grayling is the author of about 30 books on
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
,
biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
,
history of ideas Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual histor ...
,
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
and
ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
, including ''The Refutation of Scepticism'' (1985), ''The Future of Moral Values'' (1997), ''Wittgenstein'' (1992), ''What Is Good?'' (2000), '' The Meaning of Things'' (2001), '' The Good Book'' (2011), ''
The God Argument ''The God Argument: The Case against Religion and for Humanism'' is a 2013 book by the English philosopher and humanist, A. C. Grayling, in which he counters the arguments for the existence of God, and puts forward humanism as an alternative to r ...
'' (2013), ''The Age of Genius: The Seventeenth Century and the Birth of the Modern Mind'' (2016) and ''Democracy and its Crises'' (2017). Grayling was a trustee of the
London Library The London Library is an independent lending library in London, established in 1841. It was founded on the initiative of Thomas Carlyle, who was dissatisfied with some of the policies at the British Museum Library. It is located at 14 St James's ...
and a fellow of the
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
, and is a fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...
and the
Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
.Biography
acgrayling.com. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
For a number of years he was a columnist for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper, and presented the
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
series ''Exchanges at the Frontier'' on
science and society Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
. Grayling was a director and contributor at ''
Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...
'' magazine from its foundation until 2016. He is a vice-president of
Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious be ...
, honorary associate of the
National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...
, and Patron of the Defence Humanists.
Formerly United Kingdom Armed Forces Humanist Association – defencehumanists.org.uk
His main academic interests lie in
epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...
,
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
, and
philosophical logic Understood in a narrow sense, philosophical logic is the area of logic that studies the application of logical methods to philosophical problems, often in the form of extended logical systems like modal logic. Some theorists conceive philosophical ...
and he has published works in these subjects. His political affiliations lie on the
centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...
, and he has defended human rights and politically liberal values in print and by activism. He is associated in Britain with other
New Atheists The term ''New Atheism'' was coined by the journalist Gary Wolf in 2006 to describe the positions promoted by some atheists of the twenty-first century. New Atheism advocates the view that superstition, religion and irrationalism should not si ...
.Catto, Rebecca and Eccles, Jane
"Beyond Grayling, Dawkins and Hitchens, a new kind of British atheism"
''The Guardian'', 14 April 2011
He frequently appears in British media discussing philosophy and public affairs.


Early life and education

Son of Henry Clifford Grayling and Ursula Adelaide (née Burns), Grayling was born and raised in
Luanshya Luanshya is a town in Zambia, in the Copperbelt Province near Ndola. It has a population of 117,579 (2008 census). Luanshya was founded in the early part of the 20th century after two prospector/explorer, William Collier shot and killed a Roan A ...
,
Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...
(now
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
), within the British expatriate enclave, and raised there and in
Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...
(now
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
) where his father worked as manager for the
Standard Bank Standard Bank Group Limited is a major South African bank and financial services group. It is Africa's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is situated in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg. History ...
.Treharne, Rhys
"The Interview: A. C. Grayling"
''Varsity'', 19 October 2010.
He attended several boarding schools, including
Falcon College , denomination = Interdenominational , established = , headmaster = D. van Wyk , grades_label = Forms , grades = 1—6 , gender = Co-educational , lower_age = 12 , upper_age = 18 , pupils = 384 (2016) , campus_type = Rural , houses = ...
in
Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...
(now
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
), from which he ran away after being regularly caned. His first exposure to philosophical writing was at the age of twelve, when he found an English translation of the ''
Charmides Charmides (; grc-gre, Χαρμίδης), son of Glaucon, was an Athenian statesman who flourished during the 5th century BC.Debra Nails, ''The People of Plato'' (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2002), 90–94. An uncle of Plato, Charmides appears i ...
'', one of
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
's dialogues, in a local library. At age fourteen, he read G. H. Lewes's ''Biographical History of Philosophy'' (1846), which confirmed his ambition to study philosophy; he said it "superinduced order on the random reading that had preceded it, and settled my vocation". Grayling had an elder sister Jennifer and brother John. When he was 19 years old, his elder sister Jennifer was murdered in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
. She had been born with brain damage, and after brain surgery to alleviate it at the age of 20 had experienced personality problems that led to emotional difficulties and a premature marriage. She was found dead in a river shortly after the marriage; she had been stabbed. When her parents went to identify her, her mother—already ill—had a heart attack and died. Grayling said he dealt with his grief by becoming a workaholic.Long, Camilla. "AC Grayling: Is it safe to come out now?", ''The Sunday Times'', 12 June 2011. After moving to England in his teens, he spent three years at the
University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...
, but said that although he applauded their intention to educate generalists, he wished to be a scholar, so in addition to his BA from Sussex, he also completed one in philosophy as a University of London external student.Lacey, Hester
"The Inventory: Anthony Grayling"
''Financial Times'', 10 June 2011.
He went on to obtain an MA from Sussex, then attended
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
, where he was taught by
P. F. Strawson Peter Frederick Strawson (; 23 November 1919 – 13 February 2006) was an English philosopher. He was the Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) from 1968 to 1987. Before that, he w ...
and
A. J. Ayer Sir Alfred Jules "Freddie" Ayer (; 29 October 1910 – 27 June 1989), usually cited as A. J. Ayer, was an English philosopher known for his promotion of logical positivism, particularly in his books '' Language, Truth, and Logic'' (1936) ...
, obtaining his doctorate in 1981 for a thesis on ''Epistemological Scepticism and Transcendental Arguments''. A part of that thesis is published as ''The Refutation of Scepticism'' (1985) and its themes are further developed in ''Scepticism and the Possibility of Knowledge'' (2008).


Career

Grayling lectured in philosophy at Bedford College, London, and
St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. It has some 450 undergraduate and 200 ...
, before taking up a post in 1991 at
Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...
, where in 1998 he became
reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
in philosophy, and in 2005 professor.''Debrett's People of Today'', 2009, p. 677. In addition to his work on Berkeley, philosophical logic, the theory of knowledge, and the history of ideas, the latter including (as chief editor) the four-volume ''The Continuum Encyclopedia of British Philosophy'', he wrote and edited several pedagogical works in philosophy, including ''An Introduction to Philosophical Logic'' (3rd ed., 1999) and the two volumes ''Philosophy: A Guide Through the Subject'' (1995) and ''Philosophy: Further Through the Subject'' (1998). In his philosophical work, Grayling connected solutions to the problem of
scepticism Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...
in
epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...
with the questions about assertability and the problem of meaning in the philosophy of language and
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...
. A principal theme in his work is that considerations of
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
, which relate to what exists, has to be kept separate from the two connected questions of the relation of thought to its objects in the variety of domains over which thought ranges, and the mastery of discourses about those domains, where a justificationist approach is required. Grayling resigned from Birkbeck in June 2011 to found and become the first master of
New College of the Humanities New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
, an independent undergraduate college in London. In February 2019,
Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...
, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, purchased the New College of the Humanities. He is a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He was a judge on the Man Booker prize 2003 and Chairman of the Judges for the 2014
Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
.Man Booker 2014 Judges
Retrieved 16 December 2013
He has also been a judge on the
Wellcome Trust Book Prize Wellcome Book Prize (2009–2019 — paused) is an annual British literary award sponsored by Wellcome Trust. In keeping with the vision and goals of Wellcome Trust, the Book Prize "celebrates the topics of health and medicine in literature", inc ...
and the Art Fund prize. In 2013 he was awarded the Forkosch Literary Prize, and in 2015 he received the Bertrand Russell Society Award. Grayling was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(CBE) in the
2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...
for services to philosophy.


Public advocacy

For Grayling, work on technical problems is only one aspect of philosophy. Another aspect, one which has been at the centre of philosophy's place in history, has more immediate application to daily life: the questions of ethics, which revolve upon what Grayling calls the great Socratic question, 'How should one live?'. In pursuit of what he describes as 'contributing to the conversation society has with itself about possibilities for good lives in good societies', Grayling writes widely on contemporary issues, including war crimes, the legalisation of drugs,
euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...
,
secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...
, human rights and other topics in the tradition of
Polemics Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...
. He has articulated positions on humanist ethics and on the history and nature of concepts of liberty as applied in civic life. In support of his belief that the philosopher should engage in public debate, he brings these philosophical perspectives to issues of the day in his work as a writer and as a commentator on radio and television. Among his contributions to the discussion about religion in contemporary society he argues that there are three separable, though naturally connected debates: :(a) a metaphysical debate about what the universe contains; denying that it contains supernatural agencies of any kind makes him an atheist; :(b) a debate about the basis of ethics; taking the world to be a natural realm of natural law requires that humanity thinks for itself about the right and the good, based on our best understanding of human nature and the human condition; this makes him a humanist; :(c) a debate about the place of religious movements and organisations in the public domain; as a secularist Grayling argues that these should see themselves as civil society organisations on a par with trade unions and other
NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
, with every right to exist and to have their say, but no greater right than any other self-constituted, self-selected interest group. On this last point, Grayling's view is that for historical reasons religions have an inflated place in the public domain out of all proportion to the numbers of their adherents or their intrinsic merits, so that their voice and influence is amplified disproportionately: with the result that they can distort such matters as public policy (e.g. on abortion) and science research and education (e.g.
stem cells In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...
,
teaching of evolution The status of creation and evolution in public education has been the subject of substantial Creation–evolution controversy, debate and Social conflict, conflict in Law, legal, Politics, political, and Religion, religious circles. Globally, th ...
). He argues that winning the metaphysical and ethical debates is already abating the problems associated with (c) in more advanced Western societies, even the US. He sees his own major contribution as being the promotion of understanding of humanist ethics deriving from the philosophical tradition. Between 1999 and 2002 Grayling wrote a weekly column in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' called "The Last Word", on a different topic every week. In these columns, which also formed the basis of a series of books for a general readership, commencing with '' The Meaning of Things'' in 2001, Grayling made the basics of philosophy available to the layperson. He is a regular contributor to ''The Guardian's'' "Comment is free" group blog, and writes columns for, among others, the ''Prospect'' and ''
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...
'' magazines. Grayling is accredited with the
United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
, and is a patron of
Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious be ...
, an Honorary Associate of the
National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...
, patron of the Defence Humanists, was a Trustee of the
London Library The London Library is an independent lending library in London, established in 1841. It was founded on the initiative of Thomas Carlyle, who was dissatisfied with some of the policies at the British Museum Library. It is located at 14 St James's ...
, and a board member of the
Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...
and an Honorary Patron of The Philosophy Foundation, a charity whose aim is to bring philosophy to the wider community, and particularly to disadvantaged schools. In 2003 he was a
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...
judge and Chairman of the Judges for the 2014
Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
. In 2005, Grayling debated with Christian philosopher
William Lane Craig William Lane Craig (born August 23, 1949) is an American analytic philosopher, Christian apologist, author and Wesleyan theologian who upholds the view of Molinism and neo-Apollinarianism. He is Professor of Philosophy at Houston Baptist Univ ...
on whether God can exist in an evil world. Grayling is also a Patron of the right to die organisation,
My Death My Decision My Death, My Decision (MDMD) is an organisation that campaigns for the legalisation of assisted dying in England and Wales. The group was founded in 2009, in order to campaign for a change in the law and advocate on behalf of adults of sound ...
. Grayling wrote a book on the allied strategic air offensive in World War II, '' Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan'' (2006), as a contribution to the debate on the
ethics of war The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war is m ...
. In September 2010, Grayling was one of 55 public figures who sent a letter to ''The Guardian'' expressing their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK. In August 2014, Grayling was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''The Guardian'' opposing
Scottish independence Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about. S ...
in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. A. C. Grayling was one of the contributors to the book, ''We Are One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples'', released in October 2009. The book explores the cultures of peoples around the world, portraying both their diversity and the threats they face. Other contributors included not only western writers, such as
Laurens van der Post Sir Laurens Jan van der Post, (13 December 1906 – 15 December 1996) was a South African Afrikaner writer, farmer, soldier, educator, journalist, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer and conservationist. He was noted for his interest in Jun ...
,
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...
,
Claude Lévi-Strauss Claude Lévi-Strauss (, ; 28 November 1908 – 30 October 2009) was a French anthropologist and ethnologist whose work was key in the development of the theories of structuralism and structural anthropology. He held the chair of Social Anthro ...
, but also indigenous people, such as
Davi Kopenawa Yanomami Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, name also written Davi Kobenawä Yanomamö (born Toototobi, Brazil, c. 1956), is a Yanomami shaman and Portuguese-speaking spokesperson for the Yanomami People in Brazil. He became known for his advocacy regarding tribal ...
and
Roy Sesana Roy Sesana (born c. 1950) is a San activist who worked together with the First People of the Kalahari for the rights of his tribe. Biography Sesana lives in New Xade in the central Kalahari and works as a traditional medicine man. He moved to ...
. The royalties from the sale of this book go to the indigenous rights organisation,
Survival International Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the rights of indigenous and/or tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples. The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal peopl ...
. In recent years Grayling has been campaigning against the UK Government's response to the
2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...
result. In his book, ''Democracy and Its Crisis'', Grayling argues that voting systems must be reformed to prevent certain results, such as
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
and the election of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. Grayling has tweeted that Brexit must be made to disappear like a "nasty, temporary, hiccup, soon forgotten".


Personal life

Grayling lives in central London. He has two children from his first marriage, Anthony Joslin Clifford Grayling and Georgina Eveline Ursula Grayling, and one daughter, Madeline Catherine Jennifer Grayling, from his second marriage to novelist
Katie Hickman Katie Hickman (born 1960) is an English novelist, historian and travel writer. She was born in Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of ...
.


Positions held

*Fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...
* Fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
* Fellow of the
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
(2000–2004) * Member of the editorial boards of ''Reason in Practice'' and ''
Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...
'' *
British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
visitor to the Institute of Philosophy at the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...
(1986) * Director of the Sino-British Summer School in Philosophy in Beijing (1988, 1993) * Jan Hus Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy at the
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic The Czech Academy of Sciences (abbr. CAS, cs, Akademie věd České republiky, abbr. AV ČR) was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and its tradition goes back ...
(1994 and 1996) *
Leverhulme Trust The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to suppo ...
Research Fellowship (1998) * Honorary Secretary of the
Aristotelian Society The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, more generally known as the Aristotelian Society, is a philosophical society in London. History Aristotelian Society was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Squar ...
(1993–2001) * Gifford Lecturer at the
University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...
(2005) * Past chairman of June Fourth, a human rights group concerned with China * Honorary Associate of the
National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...
* Patron of the British Armed Forces Humanist Associatio
UK Armed Forces Humanist Association (UKAFHA)
* Representative to the
UN Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
for the
International Humanist and Ethical Union Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Found ...
* Vice-president,
British Humanist Association Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious b ...
. In June 2011, it was announced that he had decided not to take up the position of President of the BHA. * Member of the
C1 World Dialogue C1 World Dialogue is an initiative, whose stated mission is to “support and promote, propagate and preserve, peace harmony and friendship between the Western and Islamic Worlds”. The initiative has its origins in the Council of One Hundred Le ...
group on relations between Islam and the West


Publications

* ''An Introduction to Philosophical Logic'' (1982). * ''The Refutation of Scepticism'' (1985). * ''Berkeley: The Central Arguments'' (1986). * ''Wittgenstein'' (1988). * with
Susan Whitfield Susan Whitfield (born 1960) is a British scholar, currently Professor in Silk Road Studies at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC), University of East Anglia. She previously worked at the British Library in L ...
. ''China: A Literary Companion'' (1994). * (ed). ''Philosophy: A Guide Through the Subject'' (1995). * ''Russell'' (1996). * ''The Future of Moral Values'' (1997), * ''Philosophy 2: Further Through the Subject'' (1998). , ed. * ''The Quarrel of the Age: The Life and Times of William Hazlitt'' (2000). * '' The Meaning of Things: Applying Philosophy to Life'' (2001). ** published in the US as ''Meditations for the Humanist: Ethics for a Secular Age''. * ''The Reason of Things: Living with Philosophy'' (2002). ** published in the US as ''Life, Sex, and Ideas: The Good Life Without God''. * ''Russell: A Very Short Introduction'' (2002). * ''What Is Good?: The Search for the Best Way to Live'' (2003). * ''The Mystery of Things'' (2004). * ''The Art of Always Being Right'' (2004).
Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...
's essay ''The Art of Being Right''] * ''Descartes: The Life of René Descartes and Its Place in His Times'' (2005). * ''The Heart of Things: Applying Philosophy to the 21st Century'' (2005). * ''The Form of Things: Essays on Life, Ideas and Liberty in the 21st Century'' (2006). * with Andrew Pyle and Naomi Goulder (eds). ''The Continuum Encyclopedia of British Philosophy'' (2006), * '' Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan'' (2006). * with Mick Gordon. ''On Religion'' (2007). * ''Against All Gods: Six Polemics on Religion and an Essay on Kindness'' (2007). * ''Truth, Meaning and Realism: Essays in the Philosophy of Thought'' (2007). * ''Towards The Light'' (2007). ** published in the US as ''Towards the Light of Liberty''. * ''The Choice of Hercules'' (2007). * ''Scepticism and the Possibility of Knowledge'' (2008). * ''Ideas That Matter: A Personal Guide for the 21st Century'' (2009). * ''Liberty in the Age of Terror : A Defence of Civil Society and Enlightenment Values'' (2009). * ''To Set Prometheus Free: Essays on Religion, Reason and Humanity'' (2009). * ''Thinking of Answers: Questions in the Philosophy of Everyday Life'' (2010). *'' The Good Book'' (2011). *''Friendship'' (2013). *''
The God Argument ''The God Argument: The Case against Religion and for Humanism'' is a 2013 book by the English philosopher and humanist, A. C. Grayling, in which he counters the arguments for the existence of God, and puts forward humanism as an alternative to r ...
'' (2013). * ''Among the Dead Cities: Was the Allied Bombing of Civilians in WWII a Necessity or a Crime?'' (Bloomsbury edition; 2014). *''The Challenge of Things: Thinking Through Troubled Times'' (2015). *''The Age of Genius: The Seventeenth Century and the Birth of the Modern Mind'' (2016). *''War: An Enquiry'' (2017). *''Democracy and its Crisis'' (2018). *''The History of Philosophy'' (2019). *''The Good State: On the Principles of Democracy'' (2020). *''The Frontiers of Knowledge: What We Know About Science, History and The Mind'' (2021). *''For the Good of the World: Is Global Agreement on Global Challenges Possible?'' (2022).


Foreword to other books

Foreword to Shyam Wuppuluri, N. C. A. da Costa (eds.)
"''Wittgensteinian'' (adj.): Looking at the World from the Viewpoint of Wittgenstein's Philosophy"
Springer — The Frontiers Collection, 2019.


References


External links

*


Further reading

*
A. C. Grayling website

Blog in ''The Guardian''
* Schwarz, Benjamin. "Fire From the Sky: What not to read this month", ''
Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', 30 May 2006. review of Grayling's ''Among the Dead Cities''. * Smoler, Fredric. "Was the American Bombing Campaign in World War II a War Crime?", ''
American Heritage American Heritage may refer to: * ''American Heritage'' (magazine) * ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' * American Heritage Rivers * American Heritage School (disambiguation) See also *National Register of Historic Place ...
'', 6 April 2006; review of ''Among the Dead Cities''.
"Five Minutes with AC Grayling"
BBC..
"Interview with Grayling"
''
The Science Network The Science Network (TSN) is a non-profit virtual forum dedicated to science and its impact on society. It was initially conceived in 2003 by Roger Bingham and Terry Sejnowski as a cable science TV network modeled on C-SPAN. TSN later became a ...
''.
"Interview with Grayling"
ABC Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...
, 20 February 2008.
TDF Interview about ''Grace'' as co-dramatist

"Mindfields by A. C. Grayling"
''
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...
''.
Intelligence Squared Debate – Atheism is the new fundamentalism

"Grayling in conversation"
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
(audio).
"Grayling speaking on human flourishing"
The Science Network (video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Grayling, A. C. 1949 births 20th-century atheists 20th-century British non-fiction writers 20th-century English philosophers 21st-century atheists 21st-century British non-fiction writers 21st-century English philosophers 21st-century English writers Academics of Birkbeck, University of London Alumni of Falcon College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the University of Sussex Alumni of University of London Worldwide Analytic philosophers Atheism in the United Kingdom Atheist philosophers British atheism activists British critics of Islam British ethicists British secularists British social commentators Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Critical theorists Critics of Christianity Critics of creationism Critics of Islamism Critics of new religious movements Critics of postmodernism Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church Cultural critics English atheists English humanists English logicians English male non-fiction writers Environmental philosophers Epistemologists Fellows of St Anne's College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Founders of English schools and colleges Living people Logicians Metaphysicians Moral philosophers New College of the Humanities Ontologists People from Luanshya Philosophers of culture Philosophers of education Philosophers of ethics and morality Philosophers of literature Philosophers of logic Philosophers of love Philosophers of mind Philosophers of religion Philosophers of science Philosophers of sexuality Philosophers of social science Philosophers of technology Philosophers of war Philosophical logic Philosophy academics Philosophy teachers Philosophy writers Political philosophers Rationality theorists Secular humanists Social critics Social philosophers Theorists on Western civilization Writers about activism and social change Writers about globalization Writers about religion and science Zambian atheists Zambian humanists Zambian people of British descent Zambian people of English descent Zambian philosophers