The New Abnormal
#TheNewAbnormal podcast (which has over 250,000 downloads) focuses on understanding today and anticipating the future. Discussing these subjects via the viewpoints of my guests has led to some fascinating conversations with activists, creatives, writers, philosophers, strategists, psychologists, lecturers, futurists, etc. Re: my bio, I'm a strategist, author and speaker. My 1st book went to No1 in the business charts, whilst my 2nd was shortlisted for the 'Business Book of the Year' Awards. (The podcast partners with The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, a global leader in applying futures studies to solve strategic challenges, helping clients to be #FuturesReady.) So, we hope you enjoy listening to the series - which was set up during the early days of Covid, and is divided into Series One [2020-21] Two [2022] Three [2023] Four [2024] and Five [2025]. All rights reserved. #TheNewAbnormal podcast series © Sean Pillot de Chenecey 2020.
The New Abnormal
Kathleen Higgins 'From Daoism to Nietzsche...and why deception has become a modern way of life'
Series Three
In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interviewed Kathleen Higgins, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas, at Austin.
Kathleen's main areas of research are continental philosophy, philosophy of the emotions, and aesthetics.
She has published a number of books: Nietzsche's “Zarathustra” , The Music of Our Lives, A Short History of Philosophy, A Passion for Wisdom , What Nietzsche Really Said , and The Music between Us: Is Music a Universal Language?
She has edited or co-edited several other books on such topics as German Idealism, aesthetics, ethics, erotic love, non-Western philosophy, and the philosophy of Robert C. Solomon.
In this episode, we discuss her thinking on topics including post-truth, autonomy, the Noble Lie, filter-bubbles and echo chambers, public opinion and media narratives, heuristics vs critical thinking; alongside the lessons of today that we can learn from philosophers ranging from Rousseau to Kant to Schopenhaur to Derrida. And, of course, Nietzsche.