To buy tickets
go to the website here: http://oxfordliteraryfestival.org/
Presented by the Centre for Inquiry.
Grayling is Master of the New College of the Humanities, London, and a vice-president of the British Humanist Association. He has written and edited more than 30 books on philosophy and other subjects including The Good Book; Ideas That Matter; Liberty in the Age of Terror; and To Set Prometheus Free. He is a frequent contributor to national newspapers and BBC radio.
Presented by the Centre for Inquiry.
Murdin is former president of the European Astronomical Society. He has been director of the British National Space Centre and is a fellow of the Institute of Astrononmy at Cambridge University and visiting professor at Liverpool John Moores University. His works include Catalogue of the Universe and Secrets of the Universe.
Presented by the Centre for Inquiry.
To buy tickets for these events go to the website here: http://oxfordliteraryfestival.org/
Wed 20th
March 2013, 10am
Alternative
Medicine: Facts And Fallacies
Edzard
Ernst
Professor Edzard Ernst
explores to what extent our love affair with alternative medicine is based on
good evidence and to what degree it is due to fallacious thinking and
misunderstandings. Ernst has conducted two decades of research into
alternative medicines and published a number of books on the subject, including
Trick or Treatment: Alternative Medicine on Trial.
His life-long
interest in this area started while working in a homeopathic hospital. As a
clinician, he admits to have been impressed with several alternative treatments
he employed. After becoming a scientist, his attitude gradually became more
self-critical. When he was appointed in 1993 as chair of complementary
medicine, he decided to critically evaluate alternative medicine with the tools
of science. The results of his research and his outspoken comments often
generate public attention and controversy.Presented by the Centre for Inquiry.
Thursday 21st March 2013, 4pm
Weird Science: An Introduction to Anomalistic
Psychology
Chris
French
Professor Christopher
French explains how anomalistic psychology attempts to provide psychological
explanations for reports of paranormal phenomena that have been made throughout
history. He will illustrate his talk with examples relating to a range of
ostensibly paranormal phenomena. French is head of the Anomalistic Psychology
Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London. He frequently appears on
radio and television, casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims. He writes
for the Guardian and The Skeptic magazine. His most recent books are Why
Statues Weep: The Best of The Skeptic and Anomalistic Psychology.
Presented by
the Centre for Inquiry.
Saturday
16th March 2013,12.00
The
God Argument
AC
Grayling
Humanist,
writer and academic A C Grayling deals with all the arguments against religion
and puts forward the alternative, humanism, in The God Argument,
published on the eve of the festival. Grayling calmly examines all the points
in support of religious belief. He does so from an understanding of all the
reasons and motives people have for belief, and asks whether the arguments
stand up to scrutiny. Grayling goes on to ask what the alternative is to
religion as a view of the world and foundation for morality.Grayling is Master of the New College of the Humanities, London, and a vice-president of the British Humanist Association. He has written and edited more than 30 books on philosophy and other subjects including The Good Book; Ideas That Matter; Liberty in the Age of Terror; and To Set Prometheus Free. He is a frequent contributor to national newspapers and BBC radio.
Presented by the Centre for Inquiry.
Thursday
21st March 2013, 12.00
Are We
being Watched? The Search for Life in The Cosmos
Paul
Murdin
Leading
astronomer professor Paul Murdin assesses whether life really could exist
outside our planet. If it does, what form might it take, and could it be as
advanced as life on Earth? Or, are we simply alone in the universe? He
approaches his subject in an accessible way, assuming no scientific knowledge
on the part of the reader.Murdin is former president of the European Astronomical Society. He has been director of the British National Space Centre and is a fellow of the Institute of Astrononmy at Cambridge University and visiting professor at Liverpool John Moores University. His works include Catalogue of the Universe and Secrets of the Universe.
Presented by the Centre for Inquiry.
To buy tickets for these events go to the website here: http://oxfordliteraryfestival.org/
Comments
All of them? Good luck to him.