Speaker

,

Author

Hilary Lawson

Post-postmodern Philosopher

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. Find out more at https://www.hilarylawson.com.

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. Find out more at https://www.hilarylawson.com.

More Videos

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Hilary Lawson,George Ellis,Nancy Cartwright,Philip Ball

The Edge of Reality

Where mathematical metaphors meet reality

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Steve Fuller,Polly Toynbee,Hilary Lawson,Rae Langton

The Future of the Post-Truth World

Is the era of objective truth over?

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Robert Rowland-Smith,Matthew D'Ancona,Hilary Lawson,Hannah Dawson

Post-Truth and Postmodernism

Is truth just a construct?

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Hilary Lawson,James Garvey,Tara Shears,Alison Milbank

Beyond Experience

What is the nature of reality?

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Rana Mitter,Hilary Lawson,Hannah Dawson,John Searle

After the End of Truth

Is there such a thing as objective truth?

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Robert Rowland Smith,David Malone,Hilary Lawson,John Ellis

The Strangeness of Things

Are things a necessary foundation of reality?

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Robert Rowland Smith,Hilary Lawson,Michael Potter,John Searle

The Limits of My World

Was philosophy's linguistic turn a mistake?

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Hilary Lawson,Joanna Kavenna,Janne Teller,Stephen Neale

In the Beginning Was the Word

Is the world dependent on language?

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Christopher Hamilton,Hilary Lawson,Nancy Cartwright,Corine Besson

Language and the World

How does language describe the world?

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David Malone,Hilary Lawson,Berit Brogaard,Karl Friston

Down the Rabbit Hole

Confronting the limits of perception.

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Hilary Lawson,John Lloyd,Stephen Hull,Jonathan Calvert

Story Time

Is objective news an illusion?

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Hilary Lawson,Joanna Kavenna,Stanley Fish,Genia Schönbaumsfeld

Limits of Language

Can we find the right words for everything?

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Rana Mitter,Hilary Lawson,Rebecca Goldstein,Homi Bhabha

After Post-Truth

How do we navigate a world where truth is tribal?

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Hilary Lawson,Michela Massimi,Shahidha Bari

After Relativism

The ways forward from post-modernity

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John Ellis,Susan Blackmore,Hilary Lawson,Phillip Ball

The Stuff of the Universe

Is materialism wrong?

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Rufus Duits,Paul Boghossian,Rupert Sheldrake,Hilary Lawson,Rebecca Roache

The Secrets of the World

Can we have a complete description of reality?

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Hilary Lawson,Peter Atkins,Tara Shears,Alok Jha

It's an Immaterial World

Do particles exist?

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Peter Hacker,Gabriel Gbadamosi,Hilary Lawson,Lee Smolin

Pythagoras' Dream

Is reality mathematical?

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Richard Morgan,Hilary Lawson,Sam Roddick,Mark Salter

The Secrets of the Uncanny

What does our sense of the uncanny say about us?

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Hilary Lawson,Joanna Kavenna,Michela Massimi,Ray Brassier

Beyond Knowledge

Is truth an illusion?

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Hilary Lawson,Joanna Kavenna,Maurice Glasman,Michael Erard

Language, Metaphor, and Reality

Methaphors to change the world

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Truth, Error & Adventure

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Hilary Lawson,Lev Vaidman,David Tong

Uncovering Reality

Physics, truth and metaphor

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Hilary Lawson,Giles Fraser,Adrian Moore,James Ladyman

The Ultimate Map of Reality

Could a metaphysical revival be on the agenda?

A woman with curly red hair wearing a purple top smiles warmly at the camera.

Ziauddin Sardar,Angie Hobbs,Mary Warnock,Hilary Lawson

After Postmodernity

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Roger Penrose,Robert Rowland Smith,Joanna Kavenna,Hilary Lawson

Beyond Reality

What are the limits of our understanding?

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Hilary Lawson,Marcus Brigstocke,David Nutt,Natalie Bennett,Steve Richards

Facts and Fantasy

Are facts a fiction?

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Andrew Copson,Barry C. Smith,Hilary Lawson,Hilary Rose,Luciano Floridi

Everywhere and Nowhere

Are binary oppositions real?

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David Malone,Hilary Lawson,Peter Cameron,Eleanor Knox

The Strangeness of Force

Do forces really exist?

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Joanna Kavenna,Hilary Lawson,Parashkev Nachev,Katie Derham

True to Myself

Morality, virtues & consequences

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Hilary Lawson,Hannah Dawson,Shahidha Bari,Robert Eaglestone

Dangerously Big Ideas

Do we need grand theories?

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David Malone,Hilary Lawson,Peter Cameron,Patricia Waugh

This Debate Has No Title

Solving the self-referential paradox

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David Malone,Hilary Lawson,Roger Davies,Anita Avramides

God's Map

Charting the universe

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Hilary Lawson,Adam Roberts,Carlo Rovelli,Jennifer Hornsby

Theories, Mysteries and Mistakes

Contradictions in reality

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Jonathan Derbyshire,Mary Warnock,Hilary Lawson,Mark Salter,Robert Rowland Smith

Sensuality and Deception

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George Barber,Justina Robson,Gabriel Gbadamosi,Hilary Lawson

The Screen Age

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Hilary Lawson,Hannah Dawson,Daniel Everett,Emma Borg

Beyond Words

Is meaning a human fantasy?

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Julian Baggini,Hilary Lawson,Alastair Reynolds,Sally Phillips

A Wonder Full World

Is the sublime real?

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Hilary Lawson,Sean Curran,Imogen Stubbs,Anthony Neilson

The Mirror to Nature

The wonder of the wild vs. our imagination

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Hilary Lawson,Michael Eavis,Melvin Benn

Michael Eavis and the Paradise Hunters

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David Malone,Rolf Dieter Heuer,Gwyneth Jones,Hilary Lawson

The Ultimate Particle

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Hilary Lawson,Marcel Theroux,Sophie Fiennes,Peter Watson

Irony, Truth and Reality

Confronting the limits of sincerity

A young man with a distressed expression, hands on his head, and duct tape over his mouth labeled

Joanna Kavenna,Hilary Lawson,Jamie Whyte,Parashkev Nachev

Error, Lies and Adventure Part 2

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Adrian Noble,Semir Zeki,Hilary Lawson,Patricia Ellis

Maps of Mystery

Can art help us catch sight of the ineffable? Or, do we mystify existence at our peril?

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Roger Graef,Jerry Rothwell,Hilary Lawson,Susan Richards

Shooting Truth

A middle-aged man with glasses is speaking, dressed in a suit, against a patterned background.

Peter Hacker,Henrietta Moore,Lillian Edwards,Alan Winfield,Hilary Lawson

Rise of the Machines

AI: a science fiction fantasy?

Two men engaged in conversation, one with gray hair and a blue shirt gesturing with hands, and another with curly hair and glasses, sitting outdoors in a green setting.

Rupert Sheldrake,Hilary Lawson

Rupert Sheldrake in conversation with Hilary Lawson

The unspoken dogmas of science

Joanna Kavenna,Raymond Tallis,Hilary Lawson,Maria Balaska

The unsayable

Can language adequately capture reality?

Two men are depicted: one on the left with a beard and glasses, and the other on the right with tousled hair, both engaged in conversation.

Iain McGilchrist,Hilary Lawson

In Conversation: Iain McGilchrist and Hilary Lawson

Can we make sense of the cosmos?

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Hilary Lawson,Priyamvada-Natarajan

Reality vs Theory

In conversation: Priya Natarajan and Hilary Lawson

A man in a suit sits thoughtfully on a blue chair, with sunflowers and greenery in the background, discussing a topic.

Julian Baggini,Hilary Lawson,David Aaronovitch,Hannah Dawson,Paul Broks

In search of freedom

Do we choose to follow the rules?

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Barry C. Smith,Hilary Lawson,Rufus Duits,Maria Balaska

Lost in language

Is analytic philosophy's fixation on language holding us back?

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Roger Bolton,Paul Mason,Hilary Lawson,Ella McPherson

Tribal Truths and New Wisdoms

In a 'post-truth' world, what can we believe in?

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Hilary Lawson,Sophie Scott-Brown,Michael Della Rocca

Reality after realism

Embracing the death of language

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Hilary Lawson,Galen Strawson,Patricia Churchland,Maria Balaska

The return of metaphysics

Should we return to grand stories about reality?

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Hilary Lawson on Closure

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Hilary Lawson,John Ioannidis,Jess Wade

Truth, science, and reality

The replication crisis vs truth

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Hilary Lawson,Bernardo Kastrup,Annaka Harris,Reza Negarestani,Mary-Jane Rubenstein

Consciousness and the world

The relationship between experience and reality

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The world after reality

Reality is dead

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Kate Devlin,Martin Rees,Hilary Lawson,Laura Mersini-Houghton,Stephanie Hare

The AI illusion

What does the future really have in store?

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Hilary Lawson,Joanna Kavenna,Tim Maudlin

The trouble with language

Does language describe reality?

Hilary Lawson,Massimo Pigliucci,Güneş Taylor,Joanna Bryson

Memes all the way down

Is Dawkins' concept useful?

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Hilary Lawson,Simon Baron-Cohen,Rebecca Roache,Samira Shackle

Necessity and lies

Is it ever right to lie? Is honesty ever wrong?

After Postmodernism

Hilary Lawson,Sophie Scott-Brown,Robin Van den Akker,Abby Innes

After postmodernism

Escaping certainty and chaos

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Hilary Lawson,Anandi Hattiangadi ,Graham Harman

Belief, hypocrisy and reason

The difference between opinion and truth

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The making of reality

An interview with Hilary Lawson

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Sundar Sarukkai,Claudia de Rham,Hilary Lawson,James Ladyman

Uncovering the universe

Can science really reveal its secrets?

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Beyond the reality illusion

Science and the end of the real

Hilary Lawson,Mark Salter,Peter Atkins,Myriam Francois

New gods and lost rituals

Should religion play a role in modern life?

A digital representation of a brain formed with glowing lines and connections, surrounded by luminous particles, symbolizing neural activity and cognition.

Hilary Lawson,Philip Goff,Suchitra Sebastian,Jack Symes

The mystery of emergence

Is complexity a cop-out?

naughty or tice copy

Hilary Lawson,Richard Tice

Reform UK's Richard Tice under fire: The philosophy of populist nationalism

Can modern populism escape the horrors of the past?

An artistic depiction of an eye with a map of the world reflected in its iris, symbolizing global awareness and perspective.

Hilary Lawson,Mary-Jane Rubenstein,Michael Shermer,Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen

Nothing but the truth

Are all views essentially perspectival?

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David Malone,Hilary Lawson,Peter Woit,Becky Parker

The theory to end all theories

Is a theory of everything possible?

The Trouble with Truth

Embracing a radical alternative to reality

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Hilary Lawson,Philip Goff

Metaphysics vs consciousness

In conversation: Philip Goff and Hilary Lawson

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Hilary Lawson,Melanie Challenger,Peter Sjöstedt-H,Tim Palmer

The oldest gods

Should we return to the gods of nature?

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Hilary Lawson,Joanna Kavenna,Rupert Sheldrake,Peter Atkins,Güneş Taylor

Reality, fantasy and metaphor

Are scientific metaphors a real description of reality?

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Hilary Lawson,Daniel Kahneman ,Sophie Scott-Brown,Ellen Langer

The perception bias

Is bias at the heart of how we see the world?

hilary lawson on the theory of closure copy2

Hilary Lawson,Robert Lawrence Kuhn

Hilary Lawson on reality and the illusion of truth

Robert Kuhn interview with Hilary Lawson PART ONE

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Hilary Lawson,Laura Mersini-Houghton,Sara Walker,Craig Callender,Paul Davies

Beyond time and space

Locking horns over the arrows of time

A hand reaching toward a circular mirror, creating a reflection of the hand against a minimalist background.

Hilary Lawson,Joanna Kavenna,Arif Ahmed,Ruth Kempson

A world by any other name

Can we crack our relationship to language?

A serene stone statue of a hooded female figure, possibly depicting the Virgin Mary, with soft features and a downturned gaze.

Rebecca Roache,Matthew Taylor,Hilary Lawson,Danielle Sands

Virtue and vice

Is our belief in morality a dangerous fantasy?

A stylized illustration of a brain surrounded by mixed media elements, including newspaper clippings and abstract shapes against a coral background.

Hilary Lawson,Sabine Hossenfelder,Güneş Taylor,Nick Lane,Yoshua Bengio

The consciousness test

Is AI sentient?

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Julian Baggini,Hilary Lawson,David Aaronovitch,Julie Bindel,Minna Salami

Postmodernism in the dock

Are we right to abandon objective truth?

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Hilary Lawson,Joanna Kavenna,Eric Weinstein,Becky Parker

The matrix, myths, and metaphysics

Is metaphysics still relevant?

Aerial view of lush green rice terraces with intricate patterns and a small hut nestled among the fields.

Hilary Lawson,Maria Balaska,Quassim Cassam,Lisa Feldman Barrett

Mind, Maps and Reality

Finding order in our universe

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Hilary Lawson,Maria Balaska,Lisa Randall,Paul Horwich

Philosophy at war

A battle at the heart of philosophy

A close-up view of a glowing neuron, showcasing its intricate dendrites and axon, set against a dark background with an orange hue.

Hilary Lawson,Donald Hoffman,Priyamvada-Natarajan,Jack Symes

Turtles all the way down

In search of the foundations of reality

A brown egg casting a shadow that resembles a chick on a softly lit background.

Hilary Lawson,Shahidha Bari,Sophie Allen

A Crack In Everything

Slavoj Žižek debates whether Paradoxes are here to stay

Colorful, three-dimensional question marks scattered across a textured background, creating a vibrant and intriguing visual motif of uncertainty and inquiry.

Hilary Lawson,Simon Blackburn,Maria Balaska,Ruth Chang

The search for certainty

Should we give up the dream of certainty?

An artistic depiction of two winged figures, one orange and fiery, the other blue and ethereal, reaching towards each other amid a dramatic, swirling background.

Hilary Lawson,Kathleen Stock,Sophie Scott-Brown,Hilary Greaves

Being good and being bad

Morality in the modern world

More Articles

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On the cusp of the unnatural

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The Fantasy of Reality

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Searle vs Lawson: After the End of Truth - part 2

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Editorial: the Road to Hell

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Editorial: A Heretics' Feast

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It’s a Postrealist World