Cutting edge debate and talks from the world's leading thinkers, free for everyone

Death and the Human Animal 5
Death and the Human Animal
Death and the Human Animal 5
Categories: Philosophy, Ethics & Religion
Speakers: Mary Midgley
Scientists claim that humans will soon be able to attain Biblical lifespans. Is this plausible, or even desirable? Eminent moral philosopher Mary Midgley investigates the quixotic quest for immortality. 'The UK's foremost scourge of scientific preten...
Event: HowTheLightGetsIn 2012
The Fragility of the Human Personality 1
The Fragility of the Human Personality
The Fragility of the Human Personality 1
Categories: Philosophy, Psychology & Mind
Speakers: Christopher Hamilton
Without possessions, what can be said to remain of 'us'? Christopher Hamilton reflects on Primo Levi and the idea of the self. "A quite rare intelligence" Raymond Gaita
Event: HowTheLightGetsIn 2012
The Power of Lies 3
Error, Lies and Adventure Part 2
The Power of Lies 3
Categories: Philosophy, Metaphysics & Language
Speakers: Hilary Lawson, Jamie Whyte, Joanna Kavenna, Parashkev Nachev
We have seen a gradual erosion of belief in objective truth, but in a world without truth how are we to understand lies? This second event in the series debates the nature of lies and their importance. Are lies necessarily morally wrong, and what is ...
Event: HowTheLightGetsIn 2012
michael evais 1
Michael Eavis and the Paradise Hunters
michael evais 1
Categories: Art & Music, Culture & Society
Speakers: Hilary Lawson, Melvin Benn, Michael Eavis
Festival culture has transformed the British summer. And everyone from the BBC to the Guardian is setting up their own festival. Why is his happening and will It last? Is it about hedonism and excess, or are we looking for something missing in our li...
Event: HowTheLightGetsIn 2012
The Origin of Everything 1
The Origin of Everything
The Origin of Everything 1
Categories: Metaphysics & Language
Speakers: Peter Atkins
What can science tell us about nothingness? Touching upon the origins of the universe, the limits of knowledge and the real differences between philosophy and science, chemist and humanist Peter Atkins takes a long, hard look at nothing in particu...
Event: HowTheLightGetsIn 2012
digital age brain
How to Thrive in a Digital Age
digital age brain
Categories: Culture & Society, Science & Technology
Speakers: Tom Chatfield
We email, text, tweet and blog our way through life. What effect is this need for constant connection really having? Tom Chatfield offers practical advice on how we can hope to prosper in a digital century.
Event: HowTheLightGetsIn 2012
delacroix liberty equality fraternity france
Vive la Revolution
delacroix liberty equality fraternity france
Categories: Culture & Society, Politics & Economics
Speakers: Anatole Kaletsky, Maurice Glasman, Minette Marrin, Neal Ascherson
What do the principles of the French revolution mean to us today? Do liberty, equality, fraternity still have a guiding role to play in European politics, or has our complex, globalised present rendered these ideals redundant? If so, what should repl...
Event: HowTheLightGetsIn 2012
AbstractarchitectureOpticalIllusion
Truth, Error & Adventure
AbstractarchitectureOpticalIllusion
Categories: Philosophy
Speakers: Hilary Lawson
Philosophers have pursued truth, and many have placed truth at the centre of their account of meaning. But might this be a mistake? Could error be at the heart of language, and adventure, rather than truth, be the matter in hand? In the first of thre...
Event: HowTheLightGetsIn 2012
The Fifth Crime Talk
The Fifth Crime
The Fifth Crime Talk
Categories: Politics & Economics, Ethics & Religion
Speakers: Polly Higgins
Should ecocide sit alongside genocide as a crime against humanity? Radical ecologist and lawyer Polly Higgins makes a powerful case.
Event: HowTheLightGetsIn 2012
burningbook
The End of Ideals?
burningbook
Categories: Philosophy, Politics & Economics
Speakers: David Aaronovitch, David Blunkett, Jill Kirby, Nigel Lawson
Thinkers like Tom Paine and Karl Marx saw their visions for a new world transform reality - for better or for worse. Currently, grand new visions have fallen from grace. Are we right to have become sceptical or would it be better to find new ideals t...
Event: HowTheLightGetsIn 2012

 

 

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