Using ancient philosophy to cope with your modern problems

In this episode of the TED Radio Hour, host Manoush Zomorodi explores how ancient philosophical traditions—particularly those of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—can offer profound guidance for navigating modern challenges like political polarization, technological disruption, and existential anxiety. Philosophy professor Megan Sullivan from the University of Notre Dame shares her approach to teaching the 'good life' to college students through a Socratic method of questioning, helping them confront big issues like money, love, suffering, and death. She emphasizes that philosophy isn't about providing answers but about awakening moral imagination and personal agency. The conversation extends into Silicon Valley, where Sullivan works with tech leaders to integrate virtue ethics into AI development, arguing that users must reclaim their moral agency in shaping technology. She warns against anthropomorphizing AI and stresses that real love requires vulnerability and mutual selfhood—something AI cannot offer. Ultimately, the episode champions education not as knowledge transfer but as a sacred space for soul-care, self-reflection, and the cultivation of virtue in an age of artificial intelligence.