I thought of the analyst Winnicott's observation: 'It is a joy to be hidden but disaster not to be found'.

Beauty has been democratised. No longer the preserve of movie stars and models but available to all. But while the invitation to beauty is welcomed, it has become not so much an option as an imperative.

Today, 'fat' has become not a description of size but a moral category tainted with criticism and contempt.

Being able to provoke a different point of view to the standard current ideological or political perspective as played out in conventional newspaper or radio reportage is what a public intellectual does. But it's not merely about being oppositional, because that's too negative.

... within every form of oppression lies the seeds of liberation.

There is no such thing as a neutral therapist.

Public intellectuals come from a range of areas and use their expertise to comment more widely than just their field. They want to make a contribution to public space, and they stick their necks out to do it.