Do Irish people have a particular way of thinking? The question has engaged writers and anthropologists over the years. Our colonial history, our geographical location on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, and the centuries-long influence of the Catholic Church are typically cited as factors in shaping “The Irish Mind”.

William Desmond, one of Ireland’s most decorated philosophers, explores the issue afresh in his latest book. Wayward and Homebound: Irish Betweenings, Philosophical Thought, and Writing examines “family resemblances” in Irish intellectuals ranging from the ninth century monk John Scotus Eriugena to modernist novelist James Joyce.

Desmond belongs to that school of philosophy known as metaphysics. He investigates “what lies beyond physics” – stuff like “the meaning of life”. So – readers brace yourselves! – he is not in the business of giving pat answers to big questions.

His work is rich with sly observation, and among the many fascinating vignettes in his book is a meditation on Eriugena’s view of the sexes. The monk – famous for featuring on the Irish £5 note – has “an idea of the original human being as one whole prior to the fall which divides the original unity into male and female. Bisexuality is an outcome of the fall, a fall into division”. Now there’s an answer from the Middle Ages to contemporary gender wars. We are all different but the same.

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