Description: On using books rather than adoring them.

Question: Do you have a personal philosophy?

Transcript: I do have a personal philosophy. And I couldn’t describe it very briefly because that’s why I write books. My books are, in part, an extension of my personal philosophy. But if you emphasize the personal part of it, I can put it very briefly. I believe that every human being not only has a dignity, but has a mission to accomplish. And it’s not a pre-ordained mission. The reason we were given brains is we have to figure it out for ourselves. And we can’t figure it out once and for all. One of the people who inspired me, John Rawls, has written about a life plan. I don’t believe that everybody has a life plan. I believe that you have to seize opportunities. And you always have to know what your passions are, because you can’t do anything great without passion.

Question: Which philosopher really gets it?

Transcript: No. I think that if you believe that there’s one philosopher living or dead who gets it, and encompasses everything, you’re an intellectual slave to somebody else. There are many philosophers whom I’ve learned a tremendous amount from. And I teach my students that they should use books. They shouldn’t adore them. In that way I’m sort of like Ralph Waldo Emerson. A book is there for us to just . . . not to treasure, but to use to be inspired by; but not to become a slave to. And I believe that whether it’s about . . . I believe that about religion as well. I am, in some ways I think, a deeply religious person; but I don’t follow . . . I mean I’m Jewish by culture and by religious training; but I don’t follow any particular religion. I mean even though I identify probably as being Jewish.

Question: Do religion or faith inform your worldview?

Transcript: Well being Jewish has played tremendously into my world view; but I dare say how many million Jews there are in the world, there are – or at least should be – that many million different world views in the world. And that’s part of my identity as being Jewish; is being taught that each of us is God’s children and is a child of God. And I don’t even know what I mean by God, to tell you the truth. I don’t think I’ve ever said that before; but it’s true. I don’t know. It’s a spirituality that I do have. I can encapsulate it in the dignity of human beings. It’s made a big difference in my life. It’s my early, moral education was all in liberal Judaism; but I was taught that when we had a ________, the _______ was about the liberation of the Jews from the land of Egypt; but it was a story that could be retold that should inspire us all to liberate other people from their slavery; and to make sure that the people around us who are our fellow human beings weren’t left in oppression. That, to me . . . I mean it’s . . . It’s so deep in my soul that . . . And I believe it’s a universalist message. I don’t believe it specific to being Jewish.

Recorded on: 7/5/07