Underground Philosophy

Picture the scene: you’re travelling on London Underground’s Piccadilly line (the dark blue one) towards Heathrow Airport and the driver’s public address system crackles into action.

You’re expecting no more than the standard ‘mind the gap between the train and the platform’, or ‘change here for the Northern line,’ but what you hear is: ‘without music, life would be a mistake’.
Alternatively, it could be ‘to live is to dream’, or ‘beauty will save the world’.

It’s the latest idea to ease the strain of travelling on London’s crowded ‘tube’ system – the thoughts of history’s great philosophers.

Jeremy Deller, who’s compiled the selection of quotes given to drivers, said: “I often wish announcements were more personal and reflected the realities and absurdities of living and working in a big city. I think the travelling public will enjoy some humour and unexpected insight during their journey.”

The quotes above came from Nietzsche, Schiller and Dostoevsky. Another suggestion on a message board is a line from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: ‘In delay there lies no plenty.’

by Andy Moreton

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