Mortality
October 2, 2012
In spite of all the hubris humanity has indulged, the riches and the vanity, the hopes and ambitions, an unwelcome intruder always stops us in the end. Death – that unspoken inevitableness – is our shared destination. Nothingness, our fate. How can the rational person face it? And how do we face our preceding lives …
Quantities and Qualities
September 30, 2012
At a recent philosophy conference in Porto the organizers treated the delegates to a tour of some famous port wine cellars. We were shown the vintage wine collection, of which the company was very proud. Perhaps not realising we were philosophers, the tour guide asked if we had any questions. I’ve never understood what defined a wine as vintage …
Metaphysics and Better Physics
September 9, 2012
Last week I attended a workshop on Causation in Physics, part of a larger project called Causation in Science (CauSci for short). Among the speakers was the ever-eloquent and erudite Thor Sandmel whose talk raised the question of how physics relates to our experience of causation in the world. We have a philosophical theory of …
Riefenstahl’s Olympia
July 5, 2012
Can art be beautiful even though it’s wrong or would its wrongness destroy its beauty? This rather abstract question of contemporary aesthetics is made concrete in the example of filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl’s work. Riefenstahl was revolutionary, pioneering in the 1930s a number of cinematographic innovations. She used unusual angles on her subjects; she distorted the …
Literature, Philosophy and Existentialism
June 17, 2012
I have a difficult relationship with novels. I sometimes wonder what’s the point of a fictional story. And should I really spend frivolous time on novels when I haven’t yet even read the complete works of Aristotle, where surely more truth is to be found? Dickens is my favourite author but I always feel a …
The Discovery of Free Will
June 14, 2012
Humanity has a great history of exploration and discovery. Great landmarks of civilization include Columbus discovering the Americas and Amundsen reaching the South Pole ahead of Scott. We can also think of Faraday explaining electricity for the first time, Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection and the discovery of penicillin. Some of our top …
Moral Reflection and Danish Cinema
May 1, 2012
Films are capable of producing all variety of responses from their viewers. When they give us an insight into other people’s lives, real or fictional, they are particularly good at provoking empathy. Perhaps the immediacy of seeing someone’s face, be it only an actor, allows us to identify with the character and reflect on their …
Spirit and Supernature
April 7, 2012
It’s the Easter vacation, which for Christians is one of the holiest times. I’ve never made a secret of the fact that I don’t have a religious bone in my body. But I cannot deny the deep feelings of spirituality that many others have. Countless educated and rational people believe in a God, spirits and …
Chopsticks
April 3, 2012
On a recent visit to the University of Nottingham campus at Ningbo, China, I came across a creative writing reading group. They take turns to pen very short stories of no more than 600 words that they can discuss together. I mentioned that I loved writing but had never attempted fiction. An invitation – perhaps …
Love Lieder
March 29, 2012
If there be but one single thing that each and every human requires, without any fear of contradiction we say that it is love. It is not wealth, nor status; except insofar as some believe that these can bring them love – a conjecture falling far short of verification. Some say they want happiness, and …
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