With Jeremy Stangroom, James Garvey, editor of The Philosophers' Magazine, has recently written a lavishly illustrated history of western thought for the general reader, and on Thursday June 7th he will be guest speaker at Kingston Philosophy Cafe, talking about history, biography and the impact of philosophers' lives:
"How much bearing should the lives of philosophers have on our interpretations of them?" he asks. " It’s said that Thales fell into a ditch while stargazing. Aquinas paced back and forth between scribes, dictating the lines of separate philosophical treatises to them at the same time. Kant held carefully organized house parties, with time allocated to political discussion and the telling of amusing anecdotes. Schopenhauer pushed a woman down a flight of stairs. Suicide runs in the Wittgenstein family.
Does biography matter, when it comes to understanding what a philosopher said?
To flip that question around, how much bearing should philosophy have on our own lives? There’s some interesting new research that suggests, as a matter of fact, philosophy doesn’t shape our lives much at all. But should it?"
Everyone, from beginner to expert, is welcome to come along and join in the discussion, which starts promptly at 6.00pm.