Person
Agnes Callard's books and book recommendations
Across 2 podcasts. Every show Agnes Callard appears on, in one place — not just one.
Agnes Callard is a Hungarian-American philosopher and an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago. Her primary areas of specialization are ancient philosophy and ethics, and she is also noted for her popular writings and work on public philosophy. During podcast appearances on programs such as The Ezra Klein Show and EconTalk, Callard has recommended and discussed several notable literary and philosophical works. On The Ezra Klein Show, she recommended Fernando Pessoa's most famous book, The Book of Disquiet. In the same discussion, she referenced Plato's Republic to examine the creation of an ideal society, social status, and the absence of social mobility. While appearing on EconTalk, Callard brought up P. D. James's novel Children of Men to illustrate science fiction scenarios involving human extinction and mass sterility. She also mentioned Sam Scheffler's use of J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye as an example of an activity whose meaning might be questioned under the threat of human extinction. Additionally, Callard referenced Homer's Iliad and The Odyssey while discussing the Greek concept of philia and how Odysseus addresses his own heart, and she referenced Adam Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments while discussing language and human behavior.
Books by Agnes Callard
Books recommended by Agnes Callard
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The Book of Disquiet
The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa is a celebrated modernist masterpiece composed of fragmentary, introspective prose reflections and observations on existence.
Recommended“and his most famous book is called the book of disquiet I'll recommend that too”
Where to get it
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The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye by J.
Discussed“and one of them is like even something like obviously it wouldn't make sense to be looking for the cure to cancer right but even something like reading catcher in their eye that's one of his examples”
Where to get it
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The Children of Men
The Children of Men by P.
Discussed“so there's a book by Petey James Children of Men and then there's a great movie from 2006 with Clive Owen by Alfonso cuarone called Children of Men”
Where to get it
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The Enneads
The Enneads by Plotinus is a foundational collection of ancient philosophical writings that form the basis of Neoplatonism, exploring themes of beauty, the soul, and the nature of the One.
Discussed“and he wrote these this text called the any ins in which essentially he's like trying to explain how everything is organized under the one”
Where to get it
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The Iliad
The Iliad by Homer is an ancient Greek epic poem that chronicles the wrath of Achilles and the brutal realities of the Trojan War.
Discussed“uh cuz there's a there's a bit one use of philos that I think is so interesting in the I can't remember whether it's I think it's in the Iliad. Odysseus It might be in the Odyssey.”
Where to get it
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The Odyssey
Homer's epic poem The Odyssey recounts the arduous ten-year journey of the Greek hero Odysseus as he strives to return home to Ithaca following the Trojan War, facing mythical monsters, divine wrath, and profound personal trials along the way.
Discussed“Odysseus It might be in the Odyssey. I might have gotten that. But Odysseus talks to his own heart. And he calls it my phil- like my dear heart, my philos heart, right?”
Where to get it
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The Republic
The Republic by Plato is a foundational work of ancient Greek philosophy that explores justice, the structure of an ideal state, and the nature of the soul.
Discussed“if you think about Plato's Republic okay so in Plato's Republic he creates this ideal society”
Where to get it
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The Theory of Moral Sentiments
The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith is a seminal 1759 work of moral philosophy that examines the psychological foundations of human judgment, empathy, and social order.
Discussed“i think it's towards the end of theory of moral sentiments”
Where to get it
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The Wealth of Nations
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith is a foundational text in classical economics that explores the nature and causes of national wealth through the division of labor, productivity, and free markets.
Discussed“what you get there is some of the some of the story behind why there are these status tensions among human beings and why there's this zero-sum game aspect to the human experience which has to sit alongside of the kind of very positive picture in like wealth of nations where it's like oh we just get together and work”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Of: Status Games, Polyamory and the Merits of Meritocracy | The Ezra Klein Show | 2024-02-13 | 3 |
| Agnes Callard on Meaning, the Human Quest, and the Aims of Education | EconTalk | 2022-11-14 | 2 |
| Agnes Callard on Anger | EconTalk | 2021-05-10 | 2 |
| Agnes Callard on Aspiration | EconTalk | 2020-09-28 | 1 |
| Agnes Callard on Philosophy, Progress, and Wisdom | EconTalk | 2020-06-22 | 2 |
Other mentions (7: passing, ad reads, own books)
“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”
“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”