Love & Liberation in Times of Crisis with Rupert Read (and Wittgenstein)

"therapeutic Wittgenstein and the love behind tough emotions"

Feb 14, 2025

“...the argument that I've made in recent years is that all of these difficult emotions are in fact inflections of love. That we, for example, are angry because what we love is threatened...
...the attempt to avoid despair is a profound mistake. Many people are going to be tempted to despair in the years to come, because of the immense difficulty of our situation and what I say to those people is, don't try to avoid it, to work with it...
These are exactly the things that give us a chance, that give us some real hope...
...what I actually believe is that the epochal crisis we're moving into provides an enormous opportunity for all sorts of people to find true meaning again and true community in their lives..."

Listen here on your favorite podcast platform to Andrea Hiott and Rupert Read in the latest conversation on the Love & Philosophy series.

00:00 A Shocking Revelation
00:20 Philosophy and Freedom
01:02 Wittgenstein's Wonderful Life
01:20 Embracing Difficult Emotions
02:29 Introduction to the Interview
02:33 Rupert Reed's Background
04:21 Philosophy as Therapy
05:06 Love as Action
07:51 Rupert Reed's Crisis
09:50 Philosophy and Personal Crisis
11:33 Wittgenstein's Liberatory Philosophy
23:28 Spiritual Practices and Eco-Spirituality
37:05 Climate Courage Campaign
39:16 The Importance of Truth
44:07 The Path to Truthfulness
44:55 The Revelation: Civilization is Finished
46:49 Engaging with Students and Public Reaction
47:54 Joining Extinction Rebellion
48:50 The Challenge of Facing Hard Realities
51:18 The Importance of Paradox and Love
55:21 The Role of Anxiety and Dreams
57:48 Extinction Rebellion's Evolution
01:01:49 The Climate Majority Project
01:10:51 Intergenerational Solidarity and Responsibility
01:17:24 Embracing Difficult Emotions
01:22:50 Final Thoughts and Invitation to Action

"...these words popped into my head, this civilisation is finished.

I was pretty shocked by this, what felt like a kind of awful revelation. It kind of stopped me, literally stopped me in my tracks"

"...it confirmed my sense of a certain kind of fragility in what we assume in society..."

Listen now

could it be that love is at the root of many forms of anger?

In this episode, which was recorded in the autumn of 2024 but makes even more of an impact on this date of its publication, Andrea Hiott talks with environmental philosopher and public intellectual Rupert Read. They delve into Read's realization that 'this civilization is finished,' his engagement with Wittgenstein's philosophy (especially the book he edited with Alice Crary), his subsequent involvement with Extinction Rebellion, how he has come to understand crisis as inflections of love, and the 'moving forward' work of the Climate Majority Project. The conversation explores themes of crisis, consciousness, intergenerational solidarity, and the liberating power of love and truth in the face of existential challenges. Read shares insights from his academic and activist career, emphasizing the importance of inner work, eco-spirituality, and the collective struggle for a better future.