Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century (ISS21)

Professor Daniel Miller, Director, Centre for Digital Anthropology, University College London

Tuesday 22 November, 12.30-2

CACSSS Seminar Room, O'Rahilly Building, UCC.

This talk introduces the author’s upcoming book, The Good Life. Building on 16 months-long fieldwork with middle-class retirees living in a small town on the east coast of Ireland, the book juxtaposes ethnographic insights with philosophical inquiries into what constitutes a happy, free, and virtuous life. The author argues that anthropological modalities can allow one to evaluate the good life in comparison to the perspective of philosophers ranging from Socrates, Kant and Rawls to Hegel and MacIntyre . Aspects of the good life discussed in the book include freedom, equality, the satiable society and sports.