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    Dave Darby bio

    Dave Darby founded Lowimpact.org in 2001, spent 3 years on the board of the Ecological Land Co-op and is a founder member of NonCorporate.org and the Open Credit Network.

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    Dave Darby

    David Fleming’s ‘Lean Logic’ and ‘Surviving the Future’, and why they’re important

    Dave Darby 23-Sep-2016

    I attended the launch of two books at Daunt Bookshop in Chelsea on Wednesday evening. David Fleming died in 2010, and now his friend Shaun Chamberlin has edited his magnum opus, Lean Logic, and Chelsea Green have published it. Read more

    Should the NHS be allowed to sack doctors who work for the private sector ‘on the side’?

    Dave Darby 20-Sep-2016

    There was a story on Radio 4 this morning about NHS doctors who work in private healthcare ‘on the side’ now having to declare their income from private work under plans from NHS England to ensure that they’re not short-changing taxpayers. Read more

    Low-impact & the city 4: front gardens – concrete or plants?

    Dave Darby 16-Sep-2016

    My partner’s mother lives in Hounslow, under the Heathrow flight path and next to a dual carriageway. But she has filled her front and back garden with flowers, trees, bushes and vegetables. When she visits, she often brings pears, plums, spinach, tomatoes or flowers from her garden. Read more

    Revisiting my old university economics textbook – how did I ever fall for this nonsense?

    Dave Darby 08-Sep-2016

    I haven’t opened my old university economics textbook (Economics, by David Begg, Stanley Fischer and Rudiger Dornbusch) since the 1980s, so I was curious to see how I would respond to what I was taught 30 years ago. Read more

    Ecological Land Co-op are looking for an operations manager – might it be you or someone you know?

    Dave Darby 02-Sep-2016

    I am privileged to be a director of the wonderful Ecological Land Co-op, and we are currently advertising for an operations manager. Read more

    A brief history of philosophy, part 15: what next?

    Dave Darby 24-Aug-2016

    This is the final article in this series. Over the past 15 weeks I’ve tried to highlight the times in history where philosophy has helped, along with technology and events, to change the direction in which we’re moving. Read more

    A brief history of philosophy, part 14: the rise and fall of postmodernism

    Dave Darby 16-Aug-2016

    By the 1980s, a new way of thinking began to be applied to academic philosophy with almost a religious fervour that caused quite a bit of acrimony within academia, but which has now faded. Read more

    A brief history of philosophy, part 13: continental vs. analytic philosophy

    Dave Darby 10-Aug-2016

    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

    Dave Darby 02-Aug-2016

    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

    Dave Darby 27-Jul-2016

    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

    Dave Darby 19-Jul-2016

    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

    Dave Darby 12-Jul-2016

    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

    Dave Darby 06-Jul-2016

    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

    Dave Darby 04-Jul-2016

    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

    Dave Darby 29-Jun-2016

    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

    Dave Darby 27-Jun-2016

    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

    Dave Darby 24-Jun-2016

    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?

    Dave Darby 20-Jun-2016

    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

    Dave Darby 14-Jun-2016

    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

    Dave Darby 10-Jun-2016

    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

    There’s a crash coming – a slap from Mother Nature. This isn’t pessimistic; it’s realistic.

    The human impact on nature and on each other is accelerating and needs systemic change to reverse.

    We’re not advocating poverty, or a hair-shirt existence. We advocate changes that will mean better lives for almost everyone.

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