Michael Gibson: How Philosophy Helps Build Companies

Michael Gibson is a co-founder of the Teal Fellowship and then built the investment firm 1517, both of which invest in young people without college degrees to build start ups. Before his academic apostasy, he was working towards a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Oxford. He has written on innovation and technology for MIT’s Technology Review, National Review, the Atlantic, and City Journal.

In this episode, we explore the correlation between entrepreneurs and people interested in philosophy, how people who aren’t on a traditional academic tract can get benefit of liberal arts through independent study.

This is Michael’s second appearance on the podcast. You can listen to the first episode here

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

2:08 - 1517 Annual Events

7:03 - Welcoming Controversial Topics

12:40 - The Correlation between Founders and Philosophy

23:53 - What Separates Philosophy from Science?

29:05 - The Politicization of Higher Education

32:03 - The Power of Hands on Experience for the Great Thinkers

38:20 - Is Philosophy Necessary for Building Things?

50:21 - Why Didn't Michael Explore Academia?

51:59 - Has the Study of Philosophy Helped Michael with is VC Work