In a speech to mark World Philosophy Day, the President criticised what he called a “deep anti-intellectualism” in the media and a lack of critical thinking in schools and society. “The challenges of the next decade simply cannot be met with the old orthodoxies. One of Mr Higgins’ first acts on taking up office was setting up the President of Ireland’s Ethics Initiative. On the challenge in Europe, Mr Higgins said: “Within the European Union, cohesion between the member states has declined. Submissions for the first Irish Young Philosopher Awards opens in December, and the winners will be featured at a festival of ideas at UCD next May.

Source: The Irish Times November 16, 2017 19:41 UTC