Book · 2018 · Change
Aspiration
The Agency of Becoming
- mentions
- 7
- people
- 2
- podcasts
- 2
- episodes
- 5
- recommendation
- 1
I should have mentioned the names of their books that I read and that inspired me along with the interviews. Agnes Callard's book is Aspiration, and L.A. Paul's is Transformative Experience. Great books.
What they say about it
- Discusses book contents2
The best things said about it
She also wrote Aspiration, The Agency of Becoming in 2018.
Tim Ferriss The Tim Ferriss Show · Feb 2025 Aspiring to use Agnes Callard's book from her book Aspiration aspiring to be a mensch aspiring to be a person of high moral character is a lonely task.
I'm thinking about when Agnes Callard was here talking about her book Aspiration.
The reason I love what this book's about.
You point out at a number of places in the book that an aspirant a person who aspires often will use a teacher or a role model to help them.
Why people recommend it
Aspiration by Agnes Callard is a philosophical work examining how individuals strive to acquire values and transform their desires through deliberate self-creation. Russ Roberts mentioned the title on EconTalk while expressing gratitude for books that deeply inspired him during his interviews, and he later brought up Callard's concepts to discuss the lonely, challenging task of striving to become a person of high moral character. Roberts also used the book to explore the fundamental purpose of reading and learning from past thinkers, praising its central thesis on human aspiration. During an interview with Callard herself, Roberts praised the volume, read multiple direct quotes from its pages, and discussed how aspirants frequently rely on teachers or role models to guide their personal growth. Additionally, Tim Ferriss referenced Callard's authorship of Aspiration on his show while comparing her philosophical framework and positions with those of fellow thinker L.A. Paul. Across multiple podcast appearances and discussions, the book serves as a foundational text for exploring how human beings consciously elevate their moral and intellectual capacities over the course of their lives.
Every mention
Russ Roberts I should have mentioned the names of their books that I read and that inspired me along with the interviews… 6
“I should have mentioned the names of their books that I read and that inspired me along with the interviews. Agnes Callard's book is Aspiration, and L.A. Paul's is Transformative Experience. Great books.”
“of course aspiring to use agnes callard's book from her book aspirations aspiring to be a mensch aspiring to be a person of high moral character is a lonely task”
“i'm thinking about when agnes callard was here talking about her book aspiration she talked about i think she said that you know reading is about learning how”
“though people sometimes use the word aspiration for those phenomena the reason i love what this book's about”
“you point out at a number of places in the book that an an aspirant a person who aspires often will use a teacher or a role model uh to help them”
“i'm going to read two quotes from from the book aspirants”
Tim Ferriss She also wrote Aspiration, The Agency of Becoming in 2018. 1
“She also wrote Aspiration, The Agency of Becoming in 2018.”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (11: passing, ad reads, own books)
“she's the author of the book aspiration and writes this wonderful public philosophy column”
“so you know weve talked about my book aspiration and I think one characteristic of aspirational situations is that the self-understanding of the aspirant is going to be imperfect”
“our topic for today is her book aspiration the agency of becoming agnes”
“so um you know one thing i point out in my book is that the english word aspiration is a pretty good word for the thing i'm trying to talk about”
“and i actually think this is something i i feel is missing from the book”
“and one of the one of the sort of projects of my book is to say don't assimilate these two things”
“so that's one of the puzzles that i try to address in the book and what i say is that”
“as i say in the book i thought it was a more decisive problem than i now think it is”
“so um maybe first i'll just give a little background which is that this whole book aspirations started out as a book about weakness of will or not a book”
“agnes cal her book is aspiration”
“my guest is philosopher and author Agnes Callard of the University of Chicago she's the author of aspiration the agency of becoming”