7: Graeme Forbes

Graeme lectures in Philosophy at the University of Kent, and in this week's interview he talks about which other professions he considered entering before becoming a professional philosopher as well as the 7 years he spent on the job market and how he learned to 'play the game' of academia. He discusses the concept of 'impostor syndrome' and whether it is possible to speak about 'non-trivial future truths'. Before coming to Kent Graeme worked at a small liberal arts college in Kansas which leads him to make a number of insightful comments about the differences between the US and UK university systems. Graeme has experience of stand-up comedy and is a life member of Keele Drama Society, and we learn the lesson of what happens when one meets one's heroes. Graeme also discusses his Scottish ancestry and he lets us into the secrets of the 'wall of suspicious family rivalry'. There are anecdotes about his time working for the supermarket chain Iceland and the time when he was an NUS delegate and Graeme discusses the way in which a family member used to speak to him in the form of parables. This is then followed by a wider conversation about the extent to which the lack of religion was an influence on Graeme's life and how drama was an influence on his philosophical career. Finally, Graeme reveals why he feels the need to be an imperialist when it comes to Philosophy and we learn whether, as a philosopher of time, Graeme is a backward-looking or a forward-looking type of person. Please note: Opinions expressed are solely those of Chris Deacy and Graeme Forbes and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the University of Kent.