Alexis Papazoglou’s “The Philosopher and the News” is back as a monthly event in the “On Philosophy” series!

We all yearn for connection and community, but we live in complex societies where we need to learn to live with people we disagree with. Failing to do so can result in social division and violence. But living with people who doubt our very right to exist threatens our own integrity. How are we to handle these contrasting needs? 

In this event, Avram Alpert will argue that we need a conception of belonging that is as complex as the lives we lead – one that both meets our needs for community and can make sense of the inevitable difficulties we face. As a consequence of the relational vision of belonging that he will outline, Alpert will argue that we need to develop ways of belonging that enable people to feel comfortable enough to be different.

Avram Alpert is Lecturer in the Writing Program at Princeton University. He works to understand what values we should live by in our connected, chaotic, and potentially catastrophic times. His writing has appeared in Aeon, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. His most recent book is The Good-Enough Life (Princeton University Press, 2022) and he is currently working on a book about belonging.

Alexis Papazoglou is Managing Editor of the LSE British Politics and Policy blog. He was previously senior editor for the Institute of Arts and Ideas, and a philosophy lecturer at Cambridge and Royal Holloway. He is also host of the podcast, “The Philosopher and the News”.