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Hilary Lawson hosts

Philosopher and broadcaster hosts events on metaphysics and global politics

Most viewed event

Time, Space and Being

Julian Barbour, Michela Massimi, Huw Price. Hilary Lawson hosts.

We think space and time are the structure of the universe. Yet Einstein argued 'space and time are modes by which we think and not conditions in which we live'. And philosophers, Kant and Heidegger, saw space and time as the framework of thought not the world. Are space and time just a human fantasy?

Why The World Exists

In Search of Parallel Universes

Speakers: George Ellis, Laura Mersini-Houghton, David Wallace

Life Story

Making sense of the self

Speakers: Bruce Hood, Marya Schechtman, Galen Strawson

Mazes of the Mind

The philosophy of neuroscience

Speakers: Bryan Appleyard, Colin Blakemore, Iain McGilchrist

Stories to Change the World

On rhetoric, meaning and language

Speakers: Stanley Fish, Margaret Heffernan, Stephen Neale

Dreams of the Universe

Is particle physics unscientific?

Speakers: John Horgan, Tara Shears, David Tong

Being Conscious

The science and philosophy of consciousness

Speakers: Steve Fuller, Iain McGilchrist, Roger Penrose

Biography

Hilary Lawson is a philosopher and award-winning broadcaster who has been hosting IAI TV’s philosophy and global politics debate strands since 2010. His debates have ranged from dissecting modern myths and self narratives to investigating China’s economic dominance and considering the future of global markets with Vince Cable.

As a philosopher, Hilary is best known for his theory of Closure which argues that the world is open and we close it with thought and language. His philosophy can be seen as a response to the American philosopher Richard Rorty and the French philosopher Jacques Derrida.

Hilary’s broadcast credits include hundreds of programmes for the BBC, ITV and Channel Four. He was Editor of The World This Week a weekly international current affairs programme for five years and has received twelve awards.

Hilary’s philosophy of openness led to the founding of the video painting movement in the early 2000’s. In 2008 he founded the Institute of Art and Ideas, which has been organising HowTheLightGetsIn since 2009, IAI TV since 2011, IAI News since 2013 and IAI Academy since 2014.