Robert Rowland Smith is a Britishauthor and philosopher. His books include Derrida and Autobiography (Cambridge University Press, 1995), Breakfast with Socrates: The Philosophy of Everyday Life (Profile Books, 2009), and AutoBioPhilosophy: An Intimate Story of What It Means to Be Human (4th Estate, 2018). He is a regular speaker at public and private events, addressing a wide range of topics that includes philosophy, psychology, politics, and art. .
Smith left Oxford in 1998 to pursue a career in management consultancy, becoming a partner in a London-based firm in 2004. In 2009, Smith set up a company of his own in order to operate independently. He continues to be a Quondam Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.
Robert Rowland Smith is the author of seven books. Three of these are academic. Derrida and Autobiography (Cambridge University Press, 1995) was based on Smith's doctoral thesis, and won a Choice award for 'Outstanding Academic Title'.[4]Death-Drive: Freudian Hauntings in Literature and Art (Edinburgh University Press, 2010) is an examination of Freud'smetapsychological works in relation to other theorists of death including Heidegger, Durkheim and Pascal. On Modern Poetry: From Theory to Total Criticism (Continuum, 2012) also won a Choice award for 'Outstanding Academic Title'. The first part of the book examines theories of poetry; the second part is made up of close textual analysis of certain nineteenth and twentieth century poems.
Smith has written two works of popular philosophy: Breakfast with Socrates: The Philosophy of Everyday Life (Profile Books, 2009) and Driving with Plato: The Meaning of Life's Milestones (Profile Books, 2011). The former has been translated into twenty languages.
In addition, Smith wrote the text for an art book by IsraeliphotographerOri Gersht, entitled Gersht's Ghosts (Photoworks, 2012[5]). He also contributed a foreword to the 2015 design publication, Patternity: A New Way of Seeing: The Inspirational Power of Pattern (Octopus, 2015[6]).
Smith has broadcast talks across several platforms. These include a verbal essay entitled Beyond the Age of Ideas for Four Thought for BBC Radio 4,[14] a podcast on Derrida and forgiveness for the Philosophy Bites series;[15] several videos for the Institute of Art and Ideas, filmed at the HowTheLightGetsIn Festival;[16] several videos for The School of Life, including 'in conversation' events with Steven Pinker[17] and Jared Diamond;[18] a series of interviews with entrepreneurs in different fields, entitled Innovators on Innovation;[19] and videos for the Royal Society of Arts (Beyond Ideas[20] and Carl Jung - Legacy and Influence[21]). Other BBC Radio and TV programmes on which Smith has appeared include Night Waves,[22] The Human Zoo,[23] The Review Show[24] and Today.[25]
Smith has appeared in two films by the independent production company, Heraclitus Pictures. These are Do Not Read This (directed by Joanna Callaghan, HDV, 29 minutes, 2012[26]), in which he plays the part of a publisher; and Love in the Post[27] (directed by Joanna Callaghan, HDV, 75 minutes, 2014), in which he plays a university professor.
With the philosopher Mark Vernon, Smith performs a 'Philosophy Slam', an improvised ideas format. The pair appear regularly at the Wilderness Festival and other venues, and have featured twice at the Camden Comedy Club at the Camden Head in London[28] in support of comedianPippa Evans.
Smith is one of the walking companions featured in A London Safari[30] by Rose Rouse. He appears in Monique Roffey's memoir, With the Kisses of His Mouth[31] and in the novel by Nicholas Royle entitled An English Guide to Birdwatching.[32]
Smith, Robert Rowland (2008). Derrida and Autobiography. Cambridge University Press (published 12 January 2008). ASIN0521465818.
Critical reception
Breakfast with Socrates
'Philosophy made accessible and applied to the quotidian...manages to be funny without underestimating the reader.' - Review by Emmanuelle Smith for The Financial Times, 26 October 2009[33]
'I am often asked to recommend a good introduction to philosophy - now I've discovered one. There are plenty of books but mostly they're either the 'wrong kind' of philosophy or they are terribly written. Smith's work is witty, inventive and intelligent - Carl Schmitt on arguing with your partner, Jacques Derrida on booking a holiday - and brilliantly shows how grounded High Theory really is.' - Times Higher Education Supplement
'...a very thoughtful and continuously entertaining picture of human behavior. Smith adequately and expertly matches the right classical mind or system of thought with each chapter subject without making it seem like a stretch. Rooted deeply in philosophy and psychology, the book is never too complex or confusing that anyone with a normal level of reading comprehension would have a problem with.' - Review by Curtis Silver for wired.com, 3 December 2010[34]
Driving with Plato
'A friendly guide to "the meaning of life's milestones" from birth, to learning to walk, starting school and on to passing your driving test, marrying and having a mid-life crisis, retiring and dying.' - Review by Lindesay Irvine for The Guardian, 19 February 2011[35]
On Modern Poetry
'On Modern Poetry dazzles and illuminates, as does poetry itself. The book is an exciting intervention in poetic criticism, and the zest with which the book apprehends as well as comprehends its material will ensure that all kinds of readers interested in poetry will be enthused to think more carefully about its idioms, strange logics, and its genres. In bringing together intuitive and intellectual attention without simply pre-empting the distinction or its affects, the book achieves what it sets out to do.' - Dr Anthony Mellors, Reader in Poetry and Poetics, Birmingham City University, UK[36]
'Smith's writing moves with an ease and elegance that can belie the, sometimes breath-taking, flair, reach and focus of his readings…it has much to recommend it to a wide audience, from general readers, to students, to specialists.' - Dr Clare Connors, University of East Anglia, UK[36]
Death-Drive
'This is a rich and fascinating work. Smith provides a lucid, probing and astute overview of the death drive in Freud, but also leads the reader into strange and compelling new terrain, exploring the notion that works of art have 'an unconscious of their own'. This is an important new contribution to a topic that remains controversial in psychoanalysis and culture more generally.' - Nicholas Royle, University of Sussex[37]
'The death-drive has haunted psychoanalytic theory since its first appearance in Freud's Beyond the Pleasure Principle. Rowland Smith brings new life to this grim hypothesis, tracing the rhetorical adventures of the death-drive through Freud's works and those of his defenders and adversaries. Sinuously argued and vividly expressed, Death-Drive will appeal both to beginners and to seasoned readers of psychoanalysis and literature. Rarely has death been discussed with such vitality.' - Maud Ellmann, Donald and Marilyn Keough Professor of Irish Studies, University of Notre Dame[37]
The Reality Test
'By approaching the perennial problems of business through a highly original set of emotionally-charged questions, Smith brings an extraordinary array of insights to the challenges of management and leadership. Brilliant - a tour de force.' - Jules Goddard, author of Uncommon Sense, Common Nonsense[38]
'Practical, wise and very much based in reality, this book will make anyone running a business a more shrewd, and probably a more successful, leader.' - Andrew Cahn, former CEO of UK Trade and Investment[38]
'I regard Robert Rowland Smith as simply the most intelligent person I know. After reading this book you will understand why.' - Guy Fraser-Sampson, Senior Fellow, Cass Business School[38]
'The Reality Test' cuts through turgid corporate "leadership speak" to get the heart of the matter - it should be required reading for any aspiring leader. If 'Fred the Shred' of HBOS had taken the Reality Test, perhaps we wouldn't be living through the biggest recession since the 1930s.' - Lord Victor O. Adebowale CBE, CEO of Turning Point[38]
'Robert Rowland Smith asks the practical questions that really matter to business leaders - this book will do more than make you think, it will make you do something.' - Matt Kingdon, co-founder of ?What If! and author of The Science of Serendipity[38]
'Intriguing…thought-provoking.' - Review by Frank Dillon for Irish Times, 12 August 2013[39]
^Ori, Gersht (2012). Gersht's Ghosts, Artist Book. Text by Robert Rowland Smith. Photoworks. ISBN9781903796474.
^Patternity (2015). Patternity: A new way of seeing: The inspirational power of pattern. foreword written by Robert Rowland Smith. Octopus. ISBN9781840916942.
