The Pianist
September 22, 2013
As dusk arrived, we took shelter in the pub by the harbour. The sea air and the mist had chilled us. The pub sat above rocks against which waves constantly crashed, the noise being inescapable outside. Inside the atmosphere was completely different: busy, warm, cosy and intimate. A fire had been lit. The décor played …
Let’s Get Physical
August 31, 2013
Philosophers develop their mental lives as much as anyone does. And academics, especially in the arts, put thinking first. But that sometimes leads us to neglect our physical being. It is essential to us that we are an embodied rationality, with a physical location and extent in space and time, exercising our free agency. It …
The Wordsmith
I was surprised this week how much I was affected by the death of Seamus Heaney. The many tributes I saw and heard seemed to make a bigger impact than his actual passing. It was clear that wordsmiths are still highly valued or, in Heaney’s case, revered. That is so encouraging. We sometimes see dystopian …
Reviewing Reviewers
August 25, 2013
My son was listening to a film review on You Tube last week. I found the reviewer to be smug, sniping and self-satisfied, poking fun at a movie that he wouldn’t have had the talent to produce in a million years. If internet reviewers really knew what they are talking about, wouldn’t they be working …
Ethics Begins at Home
August 17, 2013
I’m not a moral philosopher (and sometimes joke that I’m an immoral one). But certainly morality is an area of the arts that concerns every single person. We all have ethical deliberations to face on a regular basis. Some have a strict and explicit code according to which they live while others get by on …
Finitude
July 21, 2013
Another book idea came to me yesterday morning and I was quite excited about it. It could be important and significant. But it would take a lot of work to do it properly: maybe ten years’ worth of research time. And then I remembered that I have about six other books I want to write …
Performance
July 14, 2013
Hyper-sensitive and irritable. Unable to think of other matters. Waiting for that moment when I am called. My stomach churns every time I think of stepping forward and speaking into the microphone. Around 1,700 people will be in front of me and film cameras are pointing in my face. It is live-streamed around the world. …
Lost and Found in Translation
July 7, 2013
A couple of months ago I had dinner with a professional translator who produces subtitles for film and TV. The conversation led to the complexities of the process. There are difficult judgments to be made all the time, as with any form of translation. Does the word in language A really mean the same as …
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 …
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