Philosophers Café: Feline Philosophy: What I Have Learned About Human Nature from Tom the Cat

The eminent British philosopher John Gray published a charming little book, Feline Philosophy, Cats and the Meaning of Life, in 2020. Following his charming prose set against the backdrop of contemporary thought about human life with a critique of postmodern ideology, he offers ten lessons on how to live and, perhaps, live well learned through his attentiveness to cats. The two cats that have been part of my life taught me these lessons as well. In this philosopher café we will consider these four-footed felines who have no need of philosophy and who teach us why we how to treasure the art of thinking. In addition, we will discuss how thinking, abstraction, and ideology become a way of avoiding the simple gift of life.