Curiosity as a Practice and the Capacity to Connect with philosopher Perry Zurn (from the archive)

Send a love messageFrom the archive.Giving PageAndrea introduces an archive episode of Love and Philosophy featuring Perry Zurn, provost and associate professor of philosophy at American University about the book Curious Minds, coauthored with Dani Bassett. The intro previews an upcoming season launch with Janet Levin. In the following conversation, Perry links curiosity to desire and love, arguing love can guide curiosity away from appropriative or objectifying inquiry. Zurn reframes curiosity not as an individual desire to fill information gaps but as a social practice and a “capacity to connect,” drawing on network science, complexity, and ecological aesthetics through the idea of “edge work.” Andrea and Perry discuss diverse styles of curiosity (busy body, hunter, dancer), curiosity’s role in shifting knowledge networks and methods, interdisciplinary resistance, and how breaking “edges” or “cracks” can be both destructive and creative, relating curiosity to hope and to more-than-human ecologies. Perry also describes the book’s artwork by Poonam Mistry and the dedication to children who ask whether things must be this way.Perry Zurn's websiteCurious Minds: Buy the book00:00 Archive Season Preview00:56 Why Curiosity Matters03:19 Support And Welcome03:53 Love And Curiosity06:28 Origins Of Curious Minds08:51 Curiosity As Practice11:24 Edge Work Explained15:18 Pioneering And Ethics17:39 Complexity And The Brain21:27 Styles Of Curiosity26:08 Curiosity Across Divides30:12 Walking As Knowing32:31 Methods As Paths36:34 Why New Paths Threaten39:38 Dead Ends And Branching40:33 Connectional Curiosity42:48 More Than Human Curiosity47:29 Cracks Hope And Destruction51:35 Daring To Disturb53:47 Art And Dedication56:45 Closing ReflectionsFull intro and notes here.Care is not the opposite of love. It is the very urge of life. 'Caring for what?' is the primary question. That we have a choice about what we care for and how is what makes us human, but it's quite the challenge and responsibility. Let's help one another handle it.Support the showBuy Holding Paradox: The Navigational Approach to Mind and Consciousness by Andrea HiottSign up for Making Ways newsletter and projects.Please rate and review with love. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Substack.