Posts by Stephen Mumford
Broadened Horizons
June 29, 2013
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the issue of free will. There is often considered to be a problem of free will because of a view that our world contains deterministic laws and causes that trap us in their web. That’s never been my main worry, however. I’ve been far more concerned about social …
Writing for Some Purpose
June 16, 2013
I am frequently asked to write references. It’s not my favourite task. While happy to help and recommend the individual concerned – I wouldn’t agree to write it otherwise – the task of reference-writing itself is one I never relish. I love writing in general but there is something about writing for this specific purpose …
Poetry or Prose
June 9, 2013
The distinction between poetry and prose has always puzzled me. I have to confess that I have never really ‘got’ poetry, though I want to remedy this. There are some obvious differences but I assume that they are thereby superficial. Poetry usually works within a form or structure. Sometimes this is regimented, as in the …
The Political Power of the Idea
June 2, 2013
Because they can contain ideas, the tyrant will always fear the power of words and images. It may be force that ultimately topples them, but it is always an idea that motivates people to threaten such force. Ideas may be vague or mean many different things – freedom, equality, fairness, change – but if enough …
A Philosopher on Love
May 5, 2013
2,400 years ago Plato wrote of love in The Symposium. His character Aristophanes explained how we have a feeling of wholeness when we are with the ones we love. People were originally joined together in pairs, connected at the back but with four legs, four arms and two faces. Some pairs were both male, some …
On Reading Oneself
April 28, 2013
Now that my hair is getting more grey by the day, and it’s long since I was classified as an early-career academic, I have almost 25 years of written research behind me. I recently started tidying my office and have found all sorts of old writings lying around, neglected and mostly unpublished. Some were hand-written …
Propaganda and Art
April 14, 2013
What are we to make of art that is put to some morally dubious purpose? Can we still appreciate it as art or has it become tainted by its use? Politicians are acutely aware of the stirring and motivating power of art and thus it is natural that they put it to use in propaganda, …
Spirituality
March 31, 2013
I have largely avoided one of the biggest topics of all: religion. I have my reasons. Spirituality and religious belief are considered private and sensitive matters. For fear of causing offence, we are often embarrassed to talk about such things publically. Hardly anything in this world is quite so controversial, especially now that so many …
The Soundtrack to your Life
March 24, 2013
Music is probably our greatest invention. What else can so quickly lift our spirits or reduce us to tears, the two often being only seconds apart? Philosophers debate whether music really was an invention. Perhaps it was discovered. It might exist in a Platonic realm, which is our aspiration to comprehend. Certainly there is a …
Do Nothing
March 17, 2013
A few weeks ago I had an early morning flight to take. Due to poor forward planning, I was alone on board with no internet, no book or magazine and little charge on my laptop. In a restless world, such a situation seems almost a punishment to bear. What worse a torture can one inflict …
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