Speakers: John Gray, Marina Vaizey

‘When I play with my cat, how do I know she is not passing time with me rather than I with her?’ asked Montaigne back in the Renaissance. Present-day philosopher – and bestselling author of Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals – John Gray joins Marina Vaizey to discuss his latest book, subtitled Cats and the Meaning of Life. He draws on centuries of thought, including Descartes, Schopenhauer and Schrodinger, to explore the complex and intimate links that have defined how we react to and behave with this most unlikely pet – to give us a sense of our own animal nature.