St Mary’s to Host Lecture as Part of Philosophy Series

The Philosophy Department at St Mary’s University, Twickenham will host the second lecture in its public series in collaboration with the Royal Institute of Philosophy on Thursday 27^th November. Titled ‘Sentenced By Our Words’, the lecture will be given by Prof Paul Standish, Head of the Centre for Philosophy at the Institute of Education. Using American philosopher Henry David Thoreau as a discussion point, Prof Standish will look at how our thoughts are scarcely independent of our words and how it is in part through words that the facts of experience confront us. The words people use go beyond what is intended and they are received in ways we cannot fully contain or fathom. Yet our words are the means by which, like it or not, we account for ourselves and show what counts for us. In doing this we are condemned to error. Words open the world for us. But is language, then, the original sin? Between 2001 and 2011 Prof Standish was Editor of the Journal of Philosophy of Education. His work addresses philosophical questions concerning the mind, language and education. It draws from different traditions, exploring productive tensions between them, as is exemplified by his long-standing interest in Wittgenstein and Heidegger. His most recent book is Stanley Cavell and the Education of Grownups, co-edited with Naoko Saito. The free public lecture will be held at St Mary’s Strawberry Hill campus without prior registration from 5.15pm – 6pm followed by a 45 minute Q&A session. For further information please contact Dr Marije Altorf at marije.altorf@stmarys.ac.uk.