Rev Dr Giles Fraser

Rev Dr Giles Fraser, the former Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, gives a talk at the BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival 2011 on the Crisis of Commitment in our society, and an indepth interview with presenter Matthew Sweet.

Giles Fraser is the festival's Thinker-in-Residence.

He recently resigned as Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral over the handling of the Occupy London protest. At St Paul's Cathedral Giles was responsible for contemporary ethics and engagement with the financiers in the City of London. A popular contributor to Radio 4's Thought for the Day, he also lectures the British army on moral leadership.

In a talk entitled The Magnificent Seven and the Crisis of Commitment, Giles Fraser claims we have become addicted to the detached, uncommitted lifestyle embodied in those wandering gunslingers from western movies, who never want to be tied down. Is individualism pushing out all other values and leaving us rootless?

This event is chaired by Night Waves presenter Matthew Sweet.

BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival 2011 takes place at The Sage Gateshead 4 - 6 November.