Can philosophy help us navigate the crises of modern democracy and daily life?

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: A. C. Grayling argues that philosophy is not just a technical academic pursuit but a vital tool for living. By bridging the gap between abstract logic and public debate, he tackles everything from the ethics of war to the reform of voting systems, championing a humanist approach to our modern world.

Born in 1949 in Northern Rhodesia, Anthony Clifford Grayling discovered his vocation at age twelve after finding a copy of Plato's Charmides. His path to becoming a prominent public philosopher was shaped by early academic rigour and personal tragedy, including the loss of his sister and mother in his youth. He later earned his doctorate from Oxford in 1981, focusing on epistemological scepticism, a theme that remains central to his work on the relationship between thought, language, and meaning.

Grayling distinguishes between three connected debates regarding religion: the metaphysical question of supernatural agencies, the ethical basis for human conduct, and the role of religious organizations in public life. As an atheist and humanist, he advocates for a secular society where religious groups hold no more influence than other civil society organizations. He argues that by prioritizing natural law and human reason, we can better address contemporary issues like abortion policy and scientific education, which he believes are often distorted by disproportionate religious influence.

Beyond his academic contributions, Grayling is a prolific author and public intellectual who believes philosophers must engage in the 'conversation society has with itself.' This commitment led him to found the New College of the Humanities in 2011 and to write extensively on ethics, war, and political crises. In works like Democracy and Its Crisis, he suggests that current voting systems are ill-equipped to handle modern challenges, citing Brexit and the 2016 US election as evidence that structural reform is necessary to protect democratic values.

His career spans decades of media commentary, teaching at Birkbeck and Oxford, and serving as a judge for the Man Booker Prize. Appointed a CBE in 2017 for services to philosophy, Grayling continues to promote the Socratic question—'How should one live?'—as the essential starting point for both individual fulfillment and the creation of a good society.

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