At A Glance...
LILO: Weekend Day 2
1 July 2012
The fourth day in our film and philosophy season.
Main Hall
1200 The Fountain (2006) - one of Aronofsky's lesser known works, a heart-bursting love story that spans a thousand years examining the nature of death, spirituality and the fragility of existence
1415 A Matter of Life and Death (1946) - fate, free will, the afterlife and more in this absolutely timeless classic.
1600 Insight Film Festival present a series of short films on faith, and are joined by Johannes Sjoberg and Mark Vernon to discuss the nature of belief.
1800 Wings of Desire (1987) - Wim Wenders’ beautiful and otherworldly paen to love, romance and the city of Berlin
Brockway Room
1130 Liam Young, from thinktank Tomorrow's Thoughts Today, and the Humanist Philosopher's Group reflect on the ethics of nuclear waste via a screening of Into Eternity (2010)
1345 London School of Philosophyinvestigate what heroes, anti-heroes and superheroes tell us about human nature:
- Sam Fremantle explores why With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility using Spiderman (2002) and other Marvel films
- Shahrar Ali examines The Evil Which Men Do usingCrimson Tide (1995), The Siege (1998) and The Believer (2001)
- Anja Steinbauer explores the ethics of heroism, honour and violence in Ghost Dog (1999)
- Mark Fielding asks whether Hannibal Lecter is a Hero for Our Time?
Bertrand Russell Room
1200 The Wisdom of Film - The External World
This session will introduce you to the sceptical argument and looks at why we should take it seriously. The session will explore some ideas brought to us by Christopher Nolan, the Wachowski brothers and Alejandro Amenabar, but before them Nozick, Descartes and Chuang-Tzu.
1415 The Examined Life (2009)
Astra Taylor's portrait of some of the world's leading thinkers takes philosophy into the streets
1600 The Wisdom of Film - Time
What is time? Is it real or simply a metaphor? Might time travel one day be possible? Do the past and the future actually exist? These are some of the questions that we shall consider whilst looking at the philosophy of time.
Films include: Donnie Darko (2001); Primer (2004); H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine (1960); Terminator 1 and 2; Back to the Future (1985); Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Food & Refreshments
We are very happy to announce that Pizza, Burgers, Burrito, Beer and Coffee will be available all day from our friends Meantime, Eat.St and Van Dough !
Doors are at 11am. Tickets from the link below.
Event Page
LILO: Mindwalk (1990) and Nigel Floyd on Cronenberg and Existentialism TBC
2 July 2012
Looking In, Looking Out: Day 5
1830 Mindwalk (1990) Bernt Capra's 'film for passionate thinkers'. Written by Fritjof Capra (The Tao of Physics), Mindwalk is an exploration of Systems Theory and its philosophical implications imagined as a dialogue between a scientist, a politician and a poet as they wander through the ancient village of Mont Saint Michel. With an introduction by Sociologist Emma Uprichard.
2030 Nigel Floyd explores existentialism via David Cronenberg's Crash (1996), the controvertial, unsettling and ultimately nihilistic adapatation of the J.G Ballard novel of the same name.
Doors at 6pm. Tickets from the link below.
LILO: The Women of Old Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard (1950) TBC
3 July 2012
Looking In, Looking Out Day 6
Brockway Room
1800 Suitcase Cinema
An image and light beam installation
The Suitcase Cinema invites Looking In, Looking Out audiences to interrupt the projected light emanating from two 16mm projectors. The projectors will face each other. The projectors’ beams will meet on a thin material, which will partition the room into two areas. One area will contain an image. The other will be simply white light. Members of the public are invited to step across the beams’ path, and observe others on the opposing part of the partition simultaneously forming part of the ‘other’ image, using their silhouette.
Main Hall
1830 Bidisha leads a high-kicking whirl through Hollywood history and a celebration of the brilliant women who co-founded Hollywood, with film experts, critics, Old Hollywood fans and film lovers Jenny Hammerton, Muriel Zagha, Pamela Hutchinson and Kira Cochrane.
2000 Sunset Boulevard (1950) Gloria Swanson's career-defiing performance in Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett's Oscar-winning tragic tale of a star in decline. As much a reflection on the idea of Hollywood itself, as it is on love and loss.
Doors at 6pm. Tickets from the link below.
LILO: Julian Baggini on the Coen Brothers, and London Short Film festival
4 July 2012
Brockway Room
1830 London Philosophy Club discuss London film-maker Ken McMullen's experimental feature An Organisation of Dreams (2009)
Main Hall
1830 London Short Film Festival present a diverse programme of short films cherry-picked from the 2012 London Short Film Festival. With a philosophical smorgasbord of ideas from the gently thought provoking to the alarmingly mind-bending. Between each film Rich Pickings will invite a speaker to discuss the issues selected in the films, approaching them from various positions.
2015 Julian Baggini argues that the films of the Coen Brothers can compete with some of the greatest texts as a form of moral philosophy. His talk will be followed by a full screening of the darkly comedic, Oscar-winning murder-mystery Fargo (1996).
Doors at 6pm. Tickets from the link below.
LILO: They Live and Eraserhead
5 July 2012
The closing night double-bill of Looking In, Looking Out might just mean you'll never view cinema, or the world, in the same way again!
Brockway Room
1800 Suitcase Cinema in The Brockway Room
An image and light beam installation
The Suitcase Cinema invites Looking In, Looking Out audiences to interrupt the projected light emanating from two 16mm projectors. The projectors will face each other. The projectors’ beams will meet on a thin material, which will partition the room into two areas. One area will contain an image. The other will be simply white light. Members of the public are invited to step across the beams’ path, and observe others on the opposing part of the partition simultaneously forming part of the ‘other’ image, using their silhouette.
Main Hall
1830 They Live (1988), John Carpenter's homage to the sci-fi B-movies of an earlier age, in which an all-American construction worker happens across a find that changes his experience of reality forever.
2015 Eraserhead (1977) David Lynch's baffling, surrealist breakthrough film, a mysterious immersion into the mind of another that demonstrates the power of film to reveal the world as much more weird and uncanny than we usually experience it.
Doors at 6pm. Tickets from the link below.
Sunday Lecture - Recovering History in Central America
8 July 2012
Restorative justice has been widely used around the world as an essential element in peace processes, such as that of South Africa. But before a process of reconciliation can be undertaken, it is first necessary to establish truth about the past. Mike Phipps recounts the history of violence in Central America and reflects on the distinct political, geographical and historical causes of conflict in the region. Looking at the attempts to bring to justice to those responsible for violence - governmental, corporate and external – the talk examines the effects of US policy in the region over several decades and asks whether any fundamental changes might be forthcoming that will help overcome the legacy of violence that haunts the region.
11.00, £3 on the door/free to members
The Young Atheist's Handbook Launch
10 July 2012
British Humanist Association launch The Young Atheist's Handbook
Join the BHA and their excellent line up of speakers to celebrate the launch of Alom Shaha's new book The Young Atheist's Handbook: Living a Good Life Without God.
The event will include drinks, entertainment, and a presentation and reading from the author Alom Shaha. Speakers include: Philosopher A.C. Grayling; acclaimed comedian Robin Ince; editor at the science journal Nature and geneticist Adam Rutherford; and journalist, broadcaster, and presenter Samira Ahmed.
There will be a drinks reception too!
Sunday Lecture - Schopenhauer and Character-Determinism
15 July 2012
After over a century, Schopenhauer is once again coming to be seen as one of the great Western philosophers.
Hence, it is instructive to explore and critique his views about human character, as connected with his deterministic outlook.
Tom Rubens teaches English and Philosophy. He has published sid books on philosophy and a selection of poems. He has given several talks to the Society and is also an archivist in the Conway Hall Library.
11.00, £3 on the door/free to members
Breaking the Taboo about Human Population Growth
18 July 2012
18.30 doors open for 19.00 start
Central London Humanist Group present: John Collier from Population Matters discussing the taboo subject of human population growth.
In the last 85 years the human population has grown from 2 to 7 billion, but few are willing to discuss the impact of this number of people on a finite planet.
Population Matters is the leading population charity in the UK and campaign to change the way people think about population. It supports a voluntary reduction in population to a level that enables an acceptable quality of life for all, that protects wildlife and is ecologically sustainable.
Patrons of Population Matters include;
Sir David Attenborough
Dr James Lovelock
and Jonathon Porritt.
"All environmental problems become harder - and ultimately impossible - with ever more people."
Sir David Attenborough
All our talks are free to attend and open to the public. A voluntary donation of £2 is suggested from those attending the talk.
Please register your intention to come on the CLHG Meetup site or go to the 'More Info' link below
Sunday Lecture - Don't Get Fooled Again!
22 July 2012
Around the world, skeptics are on the front line as powerful governments and multi-national organisations crack down on freedom of speech. Yet skepticism is needed more than ever before, and skeptics have never been more vocal. In this talk, Richard Wilson will explore the relationship between skepticism and freedom of speech, and the opportunities that now exist for skeptics to make their voices heard.
11.00, £3 on the door/free to members
