Kieran Setiya, “Midlife: A Philosophical Guide” (Princeton UP, 2017)
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What is the central philosophical problem that Kieran Setiya addresses in *Midlife: A Philosophical Guide*?
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Hello, thanks for joining us for this episode of New Books in Philosophy. I'm Robert Talise, I'm professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University. I co host the programme with Carrie Figger and Carrie's Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Iowa. My guest today is Kirin Setya. Kirin is Professor of Philosophy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research is focused on moral philosophy, epistemology, practical reasoning and philosophy of mind. His new book is titled Midlife a Philosophical Guide, and it's published with Princeton University Press. No. Middle agedness is a curious phenomenon. Uh in many ways, one is at one's peak. But also at the early stage of decline. There's a lot uh to do, but dozens of paths that are irretrievably untaken.
There's success alongside regrets. And so it's no wonder that the idea of a midlife crisis is so familiar culturally. But midlife is not commonly a subject of explicit philosophical study. Now, as the title of his book suggests, Kirin places midlife at the center of a sophisticated inquiry. Combining philosophical argument with a mode of advice giving that I should add is refreshingly not preachy. Setya has produced a fascinating reflection on growing old. Now there's a lot to talk about. But why don't we start, as we usually do, by greeting our guest. Hello, Karen. Hi Bob. How are you today? I'm good, how are you? Oh, I'm doing fine. Thank you so much for joining us on New Books in Philosophy. Thank you for having me.
Well, why don't you start us off uh by telling us a little bit about yourself?
Sure, yeah. I grew up in England, in the north east, in Yorkshire, um, but not in the picturesque part of Yorkshire, in Hull, um sort of post industrial part of Yorkshire. And um I got interested in philosophy as a teenager, um, largely from reading the uh American sci fi horror weird fiction author H B Lovecraft. Um Yeah, so I I was uh I I'm I still like Lovecraft, but what I I realized that what I was most gripped by in his work was the the sort of philosophical dimension of exploring other possible worlds, other other possible kinds of beings, the the ethical and metaphysical and epistemological questions he was raising. Um and Lovecraft himself was very interested in philosophy, so I started reading philosophy, um reading the philosophers he had read, and that was sort of my my initiation into philosophy.
Can you b just from my own curiosity, I I'd I I I'm not aware of w what were the philosophers that that Lovecraft seemed um you know, had read?
So he was he had a very eclectic sort of range of philosophers he was interested in. So a little bit of Bertrand Russell um philosophers like Hugh Elliott and Ernst Heichel, who at the time of sort of turn of the twentieth century were significant public intellectual figures who nowadays are not taken that seriously.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the central philosophical problem that Kieran Setiya addresses in *Midlife: A Philosophical Guide*?
0:00–7:45
2
How does Setiya explain the historical origins of the “midlife crisis” concept?
7:45–15:39
3
Why does Setiya distinguish between ameliorative and existential values in midlife?
15:39–24:11
4
What role does the John Stuart Mill case study play in illustrating existential value?
24:11–32:37
5
How does the book connect the fear of missing out (FOMO) to midlife regret?
32:37–40:37
6
What is the proposed solution to midlife dissatisfaction involving telic vs. atelic activities?
40:37–48:08
7
How does Setiya suggest meditation can help re‑balance atelic activities and reduce midlife stress?
48:08–55:15
8
What future projects does Setiya envision for bridging academic and public philosophy?
55:15–1:04:46
Speakers
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