Dave Darby
A brief history of philosophy, part 13: continental vs. analytic philosophy
Twentieth century philosophy split very roughly into ‘analytic’ (mainly in the English-speaking world) and ‘continental’ (mainly in mainland Europe), and was influenced heavily by contributions to the way we think about ourselves and the rest of existence from two non-philosophers: Freud and Einstein. Read more
A brief history of philosophy, part 12: socialism, utopianism and anarchism
Karl Marx (1818-1883) is possibly the most studied philosopher in history. He said that the point of philosophy is not to understand the world, but to change it – and change it he did, with an idea, although he never saw the effects of his idea after its interpretation and implementation by others after his… Continue reading A brief history of philosophy, part 12: socialism, utopianism and anarchism Read more
A brief history of philosophy, part 11: the splintering of philosophy
Hegel represented the end of huge, speculative, metaphysical systems. After Hegel, philosophy started to splinter into many ideas vying for dominance – none of which could be said to represent the growing tip, only the branches. Read more
A brief history of philosophy, part 10: Romanticism, utilitarianism and the dialectic
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), sometimes called the father of Romanticism, is often attributed with the phrase ‘noble savage’, although he never actually said it. What it implies is some golden age when humans lived in a ‘state of nature’ – in harmony with ecology and with each other. Read more
A brief history of philosophy, part 9: Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was a time of great political as well as philosophical change. Much was written about how society should be organised. Locke’s vision of a society that protects and promotes life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was cemented in the US Declaration of Independence, and the culmination of the Enlightenment – the French… Continue reading A brief history of philosophy, part 9: Enlightenment Read more
A brief history of philosophy, part 8: empiricism vs. rationalism
The 17th century saw the beginnings of one of the most important epistemological debates in the history of philosophy, that ran well into the 18th – between empiricists and rationalists. Read more
Moving forward without the EU: clouds & silver linings
I think we all have stories about mad conversations we’ve had about Brexit since the referendum (or is it just me?). I was called a racist, for example, for suggesting that the UK is nowhere near the top of the league of ‘most xenophobic countries’, and I’ve been amazed by the vitriol this has stirred… Continue reading Moving forward without the EU: clouds & silver linings Read more
A brief history of philosophy, part 7: the re-birth of philosophy
Philosophy is for doing, not for studying – I know, sorry. But the way that we think nowadays didn’t just fall from the sky – it’s not ‘common sense’ and it hasn’t always been the same. We’re not born with a worldview – it’s something that we develop from what’s gone before. Read more
New Lowimpact.org publication: how to use gasification technology on a small-scale
Lowimpact.org has a new publication, and as far as we know, it’s a first – a book about using gasification technology on a small-scale. If you have access to woody biomass waste, this technology could be for you. It’s full-colour, 170 pages, and it’s available here. Read more
A brief history of philosophy, part 6: Reformation and Scientific Revolution
What happened next was a revolution that rocked the Church and turned our view of the universe on its head – a scientific revolution that hinged on the work of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). Read more
The EU referendum from an environmental perspective: are you willing to be challenged?
Almost all of my friends, and people whose opinions I respect, are intending to vote ‘Remain’ on Thursday. Here are the four main reasons I hear: Read more
A brief history of philosophy, part 5: roots of Renaissance
By reconciling the two giants of ancient philosophy with Christianity, Augustine and Aquinas, although culpable in the torture and murder of many thousands of innocent people, were world-changers who allowed us to eventually start to break away from myth again Read more
Why Alicia Keys giving up makeup is important
Readers of the Lowimpact blog won’t necessarily know who Alicia Keys is. She’s an American singer / songwriter who has sold over 35 million albums. So very famous, very successful, and right at the heart of the entertainment industry. Read more
A brief history of philosophy, part 4: Aquinas reconciles Christianity with Aristotle
Last week we saw how Augustine reconciled Plato with Christianity; but Aristotle, with his logic and his empiricism, was difficult to reconcile with a book that already claimed to have all the answers, and so that didn’t happen until 900 years later. Read more
A brief history of philosophy, part 3: Augustine reconciles Christianity with Plato
Augustine (354-430) was a bridge between the classical world and the medieval, Christian world. He reconciled Christianity with Plato, and his immaterial world of forms – a much easier task than reconciling Aristotle, with his scientific outlook and emphasis on reason. Read more
A brief history of philosophy, part 2: Socrates, Plato & Aristotle
After the natural philosophers, the main focus of philosophy was changed by Socrates – probably the most famous philosopher of them all. His position was that you begin to become a philosopher when you admit that you know nothing. Read more
How many of us could give a rough overview of the history of philosophy? Part 1: Thales to Socrates
It may seem like a strange question from an environmental organisation. But the way that we think nowadays didn’t just fall from the sky – it’s not ‘common sense’ and it hasn’t always been the same. We’re not born with a worldview – it’s something that we develop from what’s gone before. Read more
Ha Joon Chang: ‘increasing corporate power is at the heart of TTIP’
Ha Joon Chang, author of 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism and Economics: The User’s Guide explains that TTIP is not about ‘free trade’ – trade is already more-or-less free. TTIP is about helping corporations to sue countries if they dare to do anything – anything at all – that can be shown… Continue reading Ha Joon Chang: ‘increasing corporate power is at the heart of TTIP’ Read more
Obama says we’ll be ‘at the back of the queue’ for TTIP if we leave the EU; that’s the best argument I’ve heard for Brexit
Trade deals (and in fact, the EU) exist to maximise growth and to orient our economies towards exports. From an environmental perspective, this is the exact opposite of what we should be doing. Read more
The 6 main approaches to changing the world; which one do you subscribe to?
We received an email recently with these sentences: ‘This idea of those evil corporations is mistaken because we are all involved in society and economy. There is no us and them we are all part of it and need to take responsibility for that.’ Read more