Next talk: 'Sources of Moral Knowledge' by Dr Alex Barber, Tuesday 10 October 2017

Philosophy

Abstract

“What evidence is there to support our moral beliefs? We assume that it is (usually) wrong to tell big lies, to steal, etc., but many philosophers, and many non-philosophers, have despaired at giving convincing grounds for such beliefs. It is hard to say much beyond ‘Well, that is just obvious!’ or ‘Don’t hold inconsistent moral beliefs’. This predicament contrasts with the rigorous evidence we have for our beliefs about the physical world (climate-change denialists notwithstanding). The contrast has tempted some philosophers to argue that moral theories can rest on the same kind of evidence as scientific ones, or even that scientific and moral beliefs form part of a single coherent and well-evidenced picture of the world. I will describe these efforts before highlighting a problem: their threat to undermine scientific enquiry itself, which need to be (in a specific sense) value free.”

Revised Schedule for Season 8 Sept 2017 - June 2018

Next talk: 'CREATION AND DEFENCE OF PROGRESS - HEGEL ET AL' by Dr Phil Walden 13 June 2017

Abstract:

"There was of course progress in philosophy long before Hegel, particularly amongst the Ancient Greeks.  But Hegel's study of the whole history of philosophy enabled him to blend the strong points of previous philosophers and produce what he considered to be a definitive account of progress in philosophy.  To Hegel, this progress in philosophy ensures progress in history - not in a linear way, but in a teleological way.  It was Hegel's immense faith in all this that enabled him to defend the French Revolution even after the Terror had left other intellectuals despairing of a way forward.  Although there are unresolved problems, modern society owes an enormous debt to Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.  All this is up for discussion."

Next talk: 'The Rise and Fall of Analytic Philosophy in the 20th Century' by Robin Strachan, 09 May 2017

 

Abstract:

'Analytic Philosophy' was dominant in the early 20th Century, but later was forced to change into different forms.   Analytic Philosophy, a system to allow the study knowledge itself, started as a rejection of traditional Idealism that is as deduced by human thought and incorporated mathematics into a logical technique.  Its leading lights were Wittgenstein and Russell, who went on to have a long and varied relationship including in 1911, the 'search for a hippopotamus' in their room.

In this talk I will discuss what the system of ‘Logical Atomism' was and how it worked, and how the study of the relationships between words and terms became part of a 'Logical System'.   In every 'System' there contained propositions and 'beliefs' which might consist of many 'true' and 'untrue' statements.   

Problems arose however when the analytic technique could not be easily changed into reconstruction of ideas.    By the 1930's the more 'Politics, Sociology and Economics' orientated members of the 'Vienna Circle' were already moving Analytic Philosophy into new forms of thought incorporating broader science.   As Analytic Philosophy continued to be challenged, it led to some infamous public conflicts including the time when Wittgenstein reportedly waved a poker at the Psychologist and Empiricist Karl Popper in 1946. 

I will try to show how there might be 'Systems of Thought' that one day might even permit mathematical analysis of 'Philosophical Positions'.

Next Talk: Plato: 'The Everlasting Legacy' - Dr Barbie Underwood - Tuesday 11 April 2017

Abstract:
The title is a bit worthy.  I debated as other possibilities 'You're everywhere and nowhere, baby' or, better still, 'There's always something there to remind me', but decided to play safe.  The point is that Plato has had a profound influence on Western culture in many areas, its music, religion, philosophy and science.  I will be looking at some aspects of Plato's philosophy and then trying to show how it influenced writers and thinkers as varied as Augustine, Descartes, Nietzsche and Bob Dylan.