more

Hilary Lawson

Philosopher, broadcaster, and IAI Founder

Hilary Lawson is a philosopher and award-winning broadcaster who has been hosting IAI TV’s philosophy and global politics debate strands since 2010. 

Hilary Lawson is a post-postmodern philosopher and a renowned critic of philosophical realism. He is best known for his work on reflexivity and his theory of Closure, which puts forward a non-realist metaphysics arguing that we close the openness of the world with our thought and language.

Hilary Lawson Hosts..

Sidebar Ad
Hilary Lawson, Michela Massimi, Julian Barbour, Huw Price

Time, Space and Being

Are space and time real?

Jesse Norman, Thangam Debbonaire, Ruth Kinna, Hilary Lawson

Democracy in the dock

Remedying the dire state of liberal democracy
Hilary Lawson, Margaret Heffernan, Stephen Neale, Stanley Fish

Stories to Change the World

On rhetoric, meaning and language
Hilary Lawson, Bronwen Maddox, Michael Clarke, Simon Jenkins

The weapon that failed

Do sanctions ever work?

Hilary Lawson, Paul Boghossian, Naomi Goulder, Michael Ruse

The Mystery of the Good

Is morality relative or absolute?

More Videos

Hilary Lawson, Laura Mersini-Houghton, George Ellis, David Wallace

Why The World Exists

In Search of Parallel Universes
Hilary Lawson, Brendan O'Neill, Naomi Goulder, Sam Roddick, Sameer Rahim

The Good, The Bad, and the Controversial

Is morality simply prejudice?
Hilary Lawson, Simone Schnall, Rae Langton, Joel Robbins

Being Human and Being Good

Is morality relative?
Hilary Lawson, Galen Strawson, Bruce Hood, Marya Schechtman

Life Story

Making sense of the self
Hilary Lawson, Simon Glendinning, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Julie Bindel, Brendan O'Neill

A Tribal World

Are communities dangerous or necessary?
Hilary Lawson, Philip Collins, Kwasi Kwarteng, Gita Sahgal

The Crisis of the West

Is the Age of the West at an end?
Roger Penrose, Hilary Lawson, Iain McGilchrist, Steve Fuller

Being Conscious

The science and philosophy of consciousness
Hilary Lawson, Janne Teller, Steve Fuller, Naomi Goulder

Authenticity, Reality and Being

What is it to be real?
Hilary Lawson, Iain McGilchrist, Colin Blakemore, Bryan Appleyard

Mazes of the Mind

The philosophy of neuroscience
Matthew Stone, Hilary Lawson, Raymond Tallis, Jake Chapman

Dancing with the Devil

Can and should art be moral? Our controversial panel confront the darkness.
Hilary Lawson, Peter Atkins, Steve Fuller, Rosie Harper

Uncovering the Unknown

Does science uncover the truth?
Hilary Lawson, George Ellis, Nancy Cartwright, Daniel Everett

Ultimate Proof

Is evidence an illusion?
Hilary Lawson, David Tong, John Horgan, Tara Shears

Dreams of the Universe

Is particle physics unscientific?
Hilary Lawson, Justina Robson, Nicholas Royle, Jim Crace

Myths for Modernity

Fictions and fantasies in an age of reason
Bryan Appleyard, Elisabeth Schellekens, Hilary Lawson, Semir Zeki

Inside the Mind’s Eye
Hilary Lawson, Mary Ann Sieghart, Kevin Sabet, Mike Trace

Morality, Hypocrisy and Health

Drugs and Western imperialism
Harry Eyres, Hilary Lawson, Rachael Boast, Jamie McKendrick

I Think Therefore Iamb

Poetry gives pleasure, distraction and emotional outlet but can it uncover a greater truth?
Bracha Ettinger, Julian Stallabrass, Hilary Lawson, Joanna Kavenna

Awake in the Universe

Art's ability to raise us from slumbers
Hilary Lawson, Isabel Hilton, Gideon Rachman, Robert Bickers, Rana Mitter

The Eagle and The Dragon

The 21st Century Superpower: US vs China
Hilary Lawson, Shirley Williams, George Galloway, Philip Collins, Peter Oborne

Hypocrites, Idealists, and Liars

Can politics be sincere?
Vince Cable, Robert Skidelsky, Hilary Lawson, Will Hutton

Global Futures
Frank Furedi, David Bond, David Aaronovitch, Helena Kennedy, Hilary Lawson

The End of Privacy
Ed Vaizey, Hilary Lawson

A Change for Culture

The future of the art scene
Hilary Lawson, Toby Young, Michael Levitt, David Alexander, Anne Johnson

The cause of death

Nobel laureate challenges lockdown
Hilary Lawson, Tim Crane, Susan Blackmore, Bernardo Kastrup

The miracle of mind

Will there ever be consensus on consciousness?
Hilary Lawson, Sabine Hossenfelder, Lee Smolin, Tara Shears

The anti-universe

The biggest jump in physics?
Hilary Lawson, Joanna Kavenna, Raymond Tallis, Jennifer Ackerman

Language, animals and us

The uniqueness of human language
Hilary Lawson, Cindy Yu, Nigel Inkster, Chris Parry

China and the art of peace

Western strategy in the new global order
Hilary Lawson, Michio Kaku, Sabine Hossenfelder, Roger Penrose

The mystery of the multiverse

Should we abandon the multiverse theory?
Stephanie Hare, Hilary Lawson, Paul Mason, Freddie Sayers

Fact-checking the fact-checkers

Is it possible for fact checking to be impartial?
Hilary Lawson, Bronwen Maddox, Michael Clarke, Simon Jenkins

The weapon that failed

Do sanctions ever work?

Jesse Norman, Thangam Debbonaire, Ruth Kinna, Hilary Lawson

Democracy in the dock

Remedying the dire state of liberal democracy
Raymond Tallis, Joanna Kavenna, Simon Blackburn, Hilary Lawson

Metaphysics, morality and mayhem

Which theories should we prioritise?
Bret Weinstein, Tara Shears, Hilary Lawson, Terence Kealey

Trust, science and neutrality

Is science the gold standard of objective truth?