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Rupert Read (born 1966) is an
academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
and a Green Party campaigner and a former spokesperson for
Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...
. Read is a
reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
in philosophy at the
University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
UEA Faculty page
Accessed 9 July 2009 where he was awarded – as Principal Investigator –
Arts and Humanities Research Council The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. History The Arts ...
(AHRC) funding for two projects on "
natural capital Natural capital is the world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. Some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services, often called ecosystem services. All of t ...
". His other major recent academic focus has been on the
precautionary principle The precautionary principle (or precautionary approach) is a broad epistemological, philosophical and legal approach to innovations with potential for causing harm when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking. It emphasizes caut ...
, having contributed substantially to work co-authored with Nassim Nicholas Taleb on applying the principle to questions of genetic modification of organisms. In further work, Read has theorised the utility of the precautionary principle in a wide range of areas, including:
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
, the environment, as well as financial and
technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...
sectors. Read's application of the precautionary principle in climate and environmental affairs underlies many of his talks and presentations, notably including "Shed a Light – This civilisation is finished: so what is to be done?" which was given at Churchill College,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
and has gained success on YouTube with over 200,000 views. In June 2018, Read triggered a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
policy shift by publicly refusing to debate with a climate change denier. This led to new policy that meant the BBC would no longer present climate change deniers' views as a counterbalance to scientific standpoints. In October 2018, Read declared his support for
Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...
. Acting as Extinction Rebellion's spokesperson, he gave a number of interviews on national news programmes during the Rebellion's
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
protests in April 2019 (see below). Read was part of the five members of the group invited to meet with Environment Secretary Michael Gove to discuss their demands. The following day the
UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
declared a "climate change emergency"; part of Extinction Rebellion's demands. Read commented regularly through the ''
Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is published daily in Norwich, UK. Founded in 1870 as a broadsheet called the ''Eastern Counties Daily P ...
'' "One World Column" for five years. In his regular appearances in the local and national press, he speaks on sustainable transport,
green economics A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politi ...
, and
social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...
. He was formerly chair of the Green House thinktank, a former Green Party spokesperson for transport and former East of England party co-ordinator.


Academic career

Read studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Balliol College, Oxford, before undertaking postgraduate studies in the United States at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
and
Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
(where he gained his doctorate). Influenced by
Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is con ...
's philosophy, his PhD involved "a Wittgensteinian exploration of the relationship between Kripke's ' quus' problem and
Nelson Goodman Henry Nelson Goodman (7 August 1906 – 25 November 1998) was an American philosopher, known for his work on counterfactuals, mereology, the problem of induction, irrealism, and aesthetics. Life and career Goodman was born in Somerville, M ...
's ' grue' problem." He is a reader at the
University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
, specialising in
philosophy of language In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of meaning, intentionality, reference, ...
,
philosophy of science Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ult ...
, and
environmental philosophy Environmental philosophy is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with the natural environment and humans' place within it. It asks crucial questions about human environmental relations such as "What do we mean when we talk about nature?" "What ...
, previously having taught at
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. He has authored many books, including: ''Kuhn'' (2002), ''Applying Wittgenstein'' (2007), ''Philosophy for Life'' (2007), ''There is No Such Thing as a Social Science'' (2008), ''Wittgenstein Among the Sciences'' (2012), ''A Wittgensteinian Way with Paradoxes'' (2012), and ''A Film-Philosophy of Ecology and Enlightenment'' (2018). He has two chapters titled "Making the Best of Climate Disasters" and "Geoengineering as a Response to the Climate Crisis" in the Green House think-tank book: ''Facing up to Climate Reality'' (2019). His book 'This Civilisation Is Finished, co-authored by Samuel Alexander was published on 1 June 2019. His editorial experience includes ''The New Hume Debate'' (co-edited, 2000), ''Film as Philosophy: Essays on Cinema after Wittgenstein and Cavell'' (2005), and the work for which he is perhaps best known, ''
The New Wittgenstein ''The New Wittgenstein'' (2000) is a book containing a family of interpretations of the work of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. In particular, those associated with this interpretation, such as Cora Diamond, Alice Crary, and James F. Conant, ...
'' (2000), which offers a major re-evaluation of Wittgenstein's thinking. He has also co-created other books including ''Debating Nature’s Value'' (2018). Read was one of five contributors, including Nassim Nicholas Taleb, to a paper entitled "The
Precautionary Principle The precautionary principle (or precautionary approach) is a broad epistemological, philosophical and legal approach to innovations with potential for causing harm when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking. It emphasizes caut ...
(with Application to the Genetic Modification of Organisms)"; this paper has been downloaded approximately a quarter of a million times. Read has been awarded – as principal investigator – AHRC funding for two projects on "natural capital". The first in 2016 titled "Debating Nature's Value" has completed with a book being published of the same name (see above). Read then lead on the follow-up project titled "Taking the debate on nature's value to the valuers".


Political career


Green Party

Read was one of 13 Green Party councillors in Norwich, where he was first elected in 2004 to represent
Wensum The River Wensum is a chalk river in Norfolk, England and a tributary of the River Yare, despite being the larger of the two rivers. The river is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation. The Wensum is ...
ward and re-elected in 2007 with 49% of the vote. He sat on the Joint Highways Committee of the city and
county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...
s, and was spokesperson on Transport for the Green Party city councillors. Read stepped down from local politics in 2011 and Wensum was retained by the Green Party. Having held a number of officer posts for the Eastern Region Green Party, at the beginning of 2007 Read was selected as Eastern Region Green Party's lead candidate for the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
elections in 2009 and again in 2014. The East of England is one of the Green Party's stronger regions in terms of support, and under the
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
system on which the European elections operate, the party was optimistic that he would represent them in the European Parliament. However, he was beaten to the last of the seven seats in the constituency by the
United Kingdom Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...
(UKIP) in 2009, and similarly in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. For the 2019 European Elections, Read stood as the second ranked candidate on the Eastern Region list for the Green Party. He stood in the
2009 Norwich North by-election The 2009 Norwich North by-election was a by-election for the United Kingdom Parliament's House of Commons constituency of Norwich North. The by-election took place due to the resignation of Ian Gibson after being banned from standing as a L ...
, as the Green Party candidate, and returned the biggest by-election vote share in Green history with 9.7% of the vote. Read stood as MP candidate for
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
in the 2015 general election. He came fourth, having received 8% of the vote. Read has also given many talks to Green Party organisations including the Ealing Green Party in March 2019. In April 2019, Read became the second candidate on the Green Party list for the Eastern Region in the 2019 EU Elections and spent time in May campaigning with Caroline Lucas across the region. After the election, he became special adviser to Catherine Rowett during her time as an MEP: the first candidate on the Green Party list for the Eastern Region, who was elected an MEP.


School strike for climate

Read was one of 224 academics to sign an open letter of support for the
School strike for climate School Strike for Climate ( sv, Skolstrejk för klimatet), also known variously as Fridays for Future (FFF), Youth for Climate, Climate Strike or Youth Strike for Climate, is an international movement of school students who skip Friday ...
– a movement where children walked out of schools to protest at and demand action on
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
. In February 2019, Read joined school strikers at the Forum Library in Norwich and subsequently gained media coverage for his own personal open letter to schools in Norwich urging them to be supportive of action from students.


Extinction Rebellion

In October 2018 Read declared himself a supporter of
Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...
, an environmental direct action group, becoming a signatory of their first and second open letters to
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
and taking part in at least one of their November actions in London. A month later, Read took part in a sit-in to disrupt the consultation stage of a link between two major motorways across ecologically significant Wensum Valley in Norfolk. In 2019, Read spoke to the Bath wing of Extinction Rebellion in a talk entitled "Your money or your life" which focused on biodiversity, pollution, and climate change before exploring practical options around responding to the climate and ecological 'emergencies'. Read played a major role in the April 2019 Extinction Rebellion in London. In addition to joining and speaking to protesters across London, Read appeared on a number of news platforms as spokesman for Extinction Rebellion, putting forward their three demands not only to the ''
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...
'', but also to
John Nicolson John MacKenzie Nicolson (born 23 June 1961) is a Scottish journalist, broadcaster and Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. Since the 2019 general election he has been the SNP Member of Parliament (MP) for Ochil and South Perthshire. He w ...
on
talkRadio TalkRadio (previously styled as talkRADIO) is a talk radio station broadcasting nationally in the United Kingdom, which was relaunched on 21 March 2016. Based in London and owned by Wireless Group, a subsidiary of News Corp., it is the sist ...
and Nick Ferrari on
LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadca ...
; as well as debating Extinction Rebellion's approach and fracking's impact on climate change during
Jacob Rees-Mogg Jacob William Rees-Mogg (born 24 May 1969) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset since 2010. Now a backbencher, he served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council f ...
’s LBC show; and explaining the Rebellion's approach to Doug Henwood’s KPFA radio show in the USA. On television, Read appeared on Channel 5's
5 News ''5 News at 5'', also known as ''Channel 5 News'', is the news programme of British broadcaster Channel 5, produced by ITN from its main newsroom on Gray's Inn Road, London. History ''5 News'' was one of the new station's flagship programme ...
in a performance described by
Naomi Klein Naomi A. Klein (born May 8, 1970) is a Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses, support of ecofeminism, organized labour, left-wing politics and criticism of corporate globalization, fascism, ecofascism ...
as "absolutely amazing", and
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Politics Live ''Politics Live'' is a BBC News political programme which launched on 3 September 2018. It is presented by Jo Coburn and features at least four guests debating the political stories of the day, as well as reports and other content. It is broadca ...
where he notably successfully put pressure on Labour MP
Jenny Chapman Jennifer Chapman, Baroness Chapman of Darlington (born 25 September 1973) is a British politician and life peer attending shadow cabinet as a Shadow Minister of State at the Cabinet Office since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she served ...
and Conservative minister
Nadhim Zahawi Nadhim Zahawi ( ar, ناظم الزهاوي, translit=Nāẓim az-Zahāwī; ku, نەدیم زەهاوی, translit=Nedîm Zehawî; born 2 June 1967) is an Iraqi-born British politician serving as Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister ...
to agree, live on TV, to meet Extinction Rebellion, and additionally demanded that politicians stop spreading the myth – and misleading statistics – that the UK is a leader on climate change action. More recently during the October 2019 Extinction Rebellion, Read appeared on BBC question time along with Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps MP, Lisa Nandy MP, businessman
Theo Paphitis Theodoros "Theo" Paphitis ( el, Θεόδωρος Παφίτης; born 24 September 1959) is a Greek-Cypriot British retail magnate and entrepreneur. He is best known for his appearances on the BBC business programme ''Dragons' Den'' and as former ...
and journalist
Julia Hartley-Brewer Julia Hartley-Brewer is an English radio presenter, political journalist and newspaper columnist. She hosts the weekday breakfast radio show on Talkradio. Early life Julia Hartley-Brewer's father, Michael John Hartley-Brewer, stood unsuccessfu ...
. Through the work of their protests, Extinction Rebellion were invited to talk to the
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...
Sadiq Khan Sadiq Aman Khan (; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's sof ...
and Shadow Chancellor
John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...
. Additionally, Read was personally involved in meeting Environment Secretary Michael Gove at DEFRA where he put forward Extinction Rebellion's demands and concerns directly to the government. A day later the
UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
became the first in the world to declare a "climate change emergency"; part of the first one of Extinction Rebellion's three demands. In 2020, Read orchestrated the leak of the
JP Morgan JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in City of New York, New York City and Delaware General Corporation Law, inco ...
report saying Earth is on unsustainable trajectory, in which the major fossil fuel financier warned its clients of the economic risks of man-made global warming. In July 2020, Read published a collection of essays entitle
Extinction Rebellion: Insights from the Inside
about his experiences of being involved in Extinction Rebellion from its inception in 2018 up until the Covid pandemic. This piece was edited by, and contains a postscript from, Samuel Alexander. Read is no longer a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion, as he refuses to speak to any Murdoch-owned outlets "until climate change is front page news," and he felt that this stance would weaken his ability to be an efficient spokesperson for the activist organisation going forward.


Moderate Flank

Read is now involved in creating a 'moderate flank' of climate activism, arguing that whilst Extinction Rebellion has been extremely successful in elevating climate change as a political and social issue, some of its tactics risk isolating people. On an issue as crucial as climate change, Read believes that all people must have an outlet to express their concerns and pressurise for political change, which requires the formation of a less radical wing of the climate movement. Another central part of the moderate flank is to avoid stances on identity politics in an attempt to maximise participation from all sides of the political spectrum. Read is currently co-director of the Moderate Flank Incubator designed to help grow the moderate flank, which has initial core funding of £100,000.


Political journalism

Read was a regular contributor to the One World Column in the EDP, focusing on international development, poverty, globalisation, peacemaking, human rights, international relations and the environment. He has also had various articles appear in
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
,
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
, and
The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Robe ...
.


Leave Our Kids Alone

Read is co-founder of the Leave our Kids Alone campaign, which seeks a ban on all advertising targeting children under 11.


Guardians for future generations

Read has developed, on the basis of his research in political and environmental philosophy, a radical proposal for institutional reform, to provide a place in the UK's democratic system for a voice for future people. The proposal was launched at Parliament on 10 January 2012.


Works

* (Co-authored with James L. Guetti) '' Meaningful Consequences,'' ''The Philosophical Forum'', Volume XXX, Issue 4, December 1999, Pages 289–315. * (Edited with Alice Crary) ''
The New Wittgenstein ''The New Wittgenstein'' (2000) is a book containing a family of interpretations of the work of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. In particular, those associated with this interpretation, such as Cora Diamond, Alice Crary, and James F. Conant, ...
'', London: Routledge, 2000. * (Co-authored with Wes Sharrock) ''Kuhn: Philosopher of Scientific Revolution'', Oxford: Polity, (2002). * (Co-edited with Jerry Goodenough) ''Film as Philosophy: Essays in Cinema after Wittgenstein and Cavell'' (2005). * ''Philosophy for Life: Applying Philosophy in Politics and Culture'' (2007). * (Co-authored with Matthew A. Lavery) 'Beyond the Tractatus Wars: The New Wittgenstein Debate' (2011) * 'A Wittgensteinian Way with Paradoxes' (2012) * Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Rupert Read, Raphael Douady, Joseph Norman, Yaneer Bar-Yam
''The Precautionary Principle (With Application to the Genetic Modification of Organisms)''
(2014). * "The Tale Parfit Tells: Analytic Metaphysics of Personal Identity vs. Wittgensteinian Film and Literature," in ''Philosophy and Literature'' 39.1 (April 2015): 128–53. * 'A Film-Philosophy of Ecology and Environment' (2018) * (Co-authored with Samuel Alexander) 'This Civilisation Is Finished' (2019) * (Co-authored with Samuel Alexander) 'Extinction Rebellion: Insights From The Inside' (2020) * 'Wittgenstein's Liberatory Philosophy: Thinking Through His Philosophical Investigations' (2020) * 'Parents For A Future: how loving our children can prevent climate collapse' (2021) * (Co-edited with Ian Sinclair) 'A Timeline of the Plague Year: A Comprehensive Record of the UK Government's Response to the Coronavirus Crisis' (2021) * (Co-edited with Jem Bendell) 'Deep Adaptation: Navigating the Realities of Climate Chaos' (2021) * 'Why Climate Breakdown Matters' (2022) * 'Do You Want To Know The Truth' (2022)


References


External links


Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Rupert Living people Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Princeton University alumni Rutgers University alumni Academics of the University of East Anglia British philosophers Councillors in Norfolk Green Party of England and Wales parliamentary candidates Philosophers of science Extinction Rebellion 1966 births Sustainable transport pioneers