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Facts Matter, But They Aren't Enough: Science, Faith and Meaning in Life

Recent psychological research has looked at the importance of meaning to human beings, and how this works out in core questions about the relation of science and faith.

King Henry III and the Communication of Power

This lecture considers how Henry III of England used art to justify monarchy at the dawn of what is commonly termed the ‘parliamentary state’.

The Philosophy of Time: Does Physics Have The Last Word?

Professor Tallis seeks to rescue time from the jaws of physics, examining the claims that time is merely the fourth dimension of space-time, that there is a ‘passage’ of time or that time has a direction or arrow.

Are We Lost In The Cosmos?

What are the implications of the Big Bang for our understanding of ourselves? Is the universe meaningless? or is there some way of developing a ‘big picture’ of reality that helps us decide our place and purpose in the universe.

Slave Stories: Aesop and Walter Crane

The lecture asks how the ancient fables address power relations in a slave society. Were they primarily stories for and by slaves, or did they serve ruling-class interests?

Grasping Shadows: The Dark Side in Painting

Starting with literary examples from Dickens, this lecture will untangle the complexity of shadow-meaning by exploring how artists have used shadows since ancient times.

If Humans Are So Great, Why is the World Such a Mess?

This lecture looks at our changing understanding of ourselves, focussing on Charles Darwin’s theory of human origins and the religious, scientific and ethical questions raised.

The Clockwork God: Isaac Newton and the Mechanical Universe

Isaac Newton saw his demonstration of the regularity of the universe as having great religious significance. Newton’s ideas were initially seen as very supportive of religion; yet within 50 years, they were being seen in a very different light.

Watching the Heavens: Astronomy and the Meaning of Life

What did the sky-watchers of the ancient world think about the night sky, and its implications for human existence? Moving on to the great discoveries of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo, we will consider the basic science and ask about the deeper significance of these discoveries.

English Landscape: Samuel Palmer and the Pastoral

Samuel Palmer, in his Shoreham period in the 1820s and 30s, seized on the long tradition of classical pastoral landscapes, and wrested it into an English idiom.

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