#55: How Shall we Live? with anthropologist and lineologist Tim Ingold

19 snips

Mar 30, 2025

Tim Ingold, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen, joins to discuss the intricate weaving of life through 'lines' instead of blocks. They explore the concept of wayfaring as our fundamental experience, emphasizing interconnectedness between nature and culture. Ingold argues for greater awareness and responsibility in our actions and choices. The conversation touches on creativity, personal journeys, and the importance of nurturing love and respect for the world, offering transformative insights into how we engage with life and each other.

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ANECDOTE

Choosing Lapland

Ingold chose Lapland for fieldwork due to his wife's studies in Finland.
His professor's colonial mindset revealed the era's attitudes.

INSIGHT

Capturing Meaning

Ingold's first book, an ethnography of the Sami, lacked the true essence of Sami life.
He realized factual details overshadowed the deeper meaning.

INSIGHT

Sami Views on Intelligence

Sami people don't separate humans and non-humans intellectually.
Importance lies in noticing and responding to surroundings.

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Life is not built by blocks but by lines woven together according to Tim Ingold, emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of Aberdeen and a leading thinker in anthropology and philosophy. Tim Ingold and Andrea Hiott explore key themes from Tim's influential works, such as 'Anthropology: Why It Matters' and 'Lines,' discussing how life is a continuous journey along interwoven threads and traces shaped by our every action. Building on Gibson, Deleuze, Hallowell, Merleau-Ponty, and others, Ingold's idea of 'wayfaring' as our fundamental mode of being challenges traditional distinctions between nature and culture, mind and body, and forces us out of block-mind and into traces and threads of life interwoven. This enriching dialogue touches on the importance of awareness, attention, and responsibility, offering insights into how these ideas can help us navigate toward a world where love and respect for life are central. Whether it's through storytelling, music, or everyday actions, learn how our paths shape our humanity and influence the futures we create. This episode is an opportunity to reflect on how we should live together in a world full of possibility, a world we love enough to take responsibility for together.

00:00 Introduction to Love and Philosophy
00:05 Introducing Tim Ingold and His Work
00:43 The Concept of Lines in Life
01:43 Wayfaring and Life as a Process
02:54 The Importance of Awareness and Responsibility
04:18 Tim Ingold's Influences and Philosophical Approach
10:28 Tim Ingold's Early Life and Inspirations
17:26 Fieldwork and Anthropology
25:16 Challenging Traditional Divisions in Science and Humanities
32:07 The Evolution of Tim Ingold's Thought
48:47 Revisiting Nature and Culture
51:48 Anthropology as a Conversation
54:46 The Anthropological Conversation
56:12 Subject and Object in Anthropology
57:58 The Middle Voice of the Verb
59:39 Crafting and Teaching
01:06:38 The Concept of Lines
01:13:24 Embodiment and Attention
01:27:42 The Future of Technology and Education
01:39:52 Hope for the Future

https://www.timingold.com/

Lines, the book

Anthropology, why it matters

‘For we are made of lines. We are not only referring to lines of writing. Lines of writing conjugate with other lines, life lines, lines of luck or misfortune, lines productive of the variation of the line of writing itself, lines that are between the lines of writing.’

— Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus

A great interview with Tim Ingold by Juan Loaiza for ENSO.

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