The Complete Kant

The philosopher Immanuel Kant said that lying was always morally wrong – and I’m writing a book about my year without lying called the Complete Kant. I received international publicity for the book, and was featured in such newspapers as The Sunday Times, the Guardian, the Sun, the Mirror and El Mundo. I was also on radio stations around the world, and appeared on UK and Irish television.

The current plan is to publish the Complete Kant myself, around June 2010 (long story, and I think it’ll be kind of fun).

It’s 11 months since my year finished, but I continue not to lie. I’ve recently started a Kantian PR company to put into practice what I’ve learnt.

On 1 January I started my latest project – a year trying not to make any judgements at all (hot news I’ve failed already). Decisions and opinions are fine, but not judgements, as I want to test my belief that they are all false.

So far I’ve encountered the practical problems of not being able to tell my kids they’re good boys, my wife she’s a control freak and myself I’m happy with how the final rewrite of the Complete Kant is progressing.

I’m planning to write a book about this experiment as well, which (for the moment at least) will be called Final Judgement.

I’ve recently launched a Kantian Communications company, to put into practice what I learnt during my year without lying. Quite naturally I won’t be lying to either my clients or to journalists, and if any of my clients lie to me I’ll stop working with them. But as great a challenge is not to deceive myself, not to allow my ego or self-interest rule my decision-making.

I’ve been working with a lovely guy (he’s a mate) called Stephen Kirk, to promote his book, “Enlightened Business: Making a Living Without Selling Your Soul.” Thing have gone well, and he’s already been in the Financial Times and The Times. We’re now planning a complete marketing campaign for the book, which he’s self-publishing in the next few weeks.

I’ve also started working with the Secret Seed Society (www.secretseedsociety.com), who aim to get kids to love their veggies, and an international telco recruiter, Rize (www.rize.co.uk), who were well placed in this year’s Fast Track 100.

I was in PR Week recently – http://prweek.com/uk/news/947143/Agency-promises-tell-whole-truth/

I’ve also written a couple of articles for the Telegraph online:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/6487120/Lying-parents-may-get-children-into-better-schools-but-they-teach-them-to-lie-too.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/6460554/Why-working-from-home-isnt-as-pleasant-as-it-sounds.html

More  clients, please.

I’ve just completed a year trying not to tell a single lie. I failed, of course, I told three – but I’ve succeeded in ways I could never have expected.

Not lying for a year was my commitment to finding truth. It was a rough old ride at times, but I’ve discovered some pretty amazing things. The last year hasn’t changed my life – the death of my father, meeting my wife, the birth of my kids, these things changed my life – but my life is changing every day.

And of course I’m going to continue trying to tell the truth. Because I’ve learnt truth as we see it isn’t really truth at all.

Because Truth can never be a lie.

The philosopher Immanuel Kant said that lying was always morally wrong.

I’m attempting to go a whole year without telling a single lie. But much more than that I’m looking for some kind of truth to keep me going for the next 40 years or so, and to pass on to my kids. Karl Marx thought philosophy was rubbish because it doesn’t change anything. I disagree. I think it may well be able to give me the direction I so desperately need.

Well, that’s the plan anyway. As is to turn my journey into a (published) book. 

You can read the first chapter here

A blatant piece of Morrow marketing. My sister, Hannah, is a fantastic designer, and here’s a link to her website. http://www.hforhannah.com

Please feel free to buy oodles of things from it.