Balancing between family life and finding time for oneself is a major challenge, especially when you have a 10 month old boy (not to mention the nagging girlfriend) demanding attention at every inopportune moment.  But as I mentioned in an email to a friend yesterday, there comes a time when…

“…every man needs to be alone with his thoughts once in a while.”

This then reminded me of a video of a man who was alone in the wilderness, and who expressed his thoughts about his surroundings and life in general in conversation with himself.

The man in question was the late British philosopher, writer and speaker, Alan Watts (1915-1973).

Alan Watts: A Conversation with Myself (1971)

Watch Alan Watts – A Conversation with Myself in Lifestyle |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Enter philosopher, Bertrand Russell to define what philosophy meant to him during an interview with another British philosopher and writer, Alan Watts.

The following audio interview is in four parts:

Alan Watts – Bertrand Russell Interview (1 of 4)

Alan Watts – Bertrand Russell Interview (2 of 4)

Alan Watts – Bertrand Russell Interview (3 of 4)

Alan Watts – Bertrand Russell Interview (4 of 4)

What does philosophy mean to you?

You don’t need to be an aristocrat to answer – just don’t forget your pipe and to wear an austere countenance when doing so, because one must be taken as seriously as Russell when answering such an earnest question.