A love letter to hard-won wisdom

Paul Sagar

AT THE START OF MY SECONDyear studying PP (I had by then blessedly dropped the E) at Oxford, I remember a bright-eyed fresher approaching my philosophy tutor, a man by the name of Bob Hargrave, in the bar. Having successfully identified A Philosopher, the new student eagerly asked: “What is the most profound existential question you can ask yourself?” Taking a drag on his cigarette before flicking the ash into the already-full tray, Bob (right) looked across the table and replied: “Well I’m 58 and my health is on the wane, and so I have to ask myself: have I already had my last sexual experience?” The poor, shocked fresher soon fled. This was not what he had expected from A Philosopher. And yet as he would learn over the…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2023

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