Overview
Contemplating questions about life and how to live it, the Socratic challenge invites us to examine the philosophies we live by. ‘What sort of person should I be’ ‘What values shall I live by’ ‘What shall I aim for?’.
Having spent a lifetime thinking and writing about these great questions, eminent Professor A.C. Grayling’s latest work Philosophy and Life offers an insightful exploration of what philosophy can tell us about life and how to live it.
“…a philosophy of life has to be a product of one’s own agency, a philosophy that is one’s own so that one’s life is one’s own: something to be chosen and lived.”
In this exclusive Brisbane event, Professor A.C. Grayling traverses love, death, grief, ageing, friendship, and art in the quest to understand what matters.
Philosophy and Life incorporates the lives and writing of an immensely eclectic range of thinkers taking in not only philosophers such as Confucius, Seneca, and Nietzsche, but also giants such as Shakespeare, Freud, and George Eliot and modern thinkers such as Martha Nussbaum and Simon May.
Professor A.C. Grayling is known globally for his profound insights into literature, philosophy, and the arts. This will be an illuminating event not to be missed.
“…I believe as strongly now as I ever did that Socrates’ question is the most important anyone can be asked to answer.”
Philosophy and Life will be available to purchase in the Concert Hall foyer, with audience members having the opportunity to have their book signed by Professor A.C. Grayling after the insightful events.
Accessibility
For wheelchair users, Companion Card holders or those requiring assistance, dedicated seating options are available, and bookings can be made through our Call Centre by giving us a call on 136 246. You can also find information on access and accessibility at QPAC here.
Program
Professor A.C. Grayling
Professor A.C. Grayling CBE MA DPhil (Oxon) FRSA FRSL is the Principal of Northeastern University London, and its Professor of Philosophy. He is also a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He is the author of over thirty books of philosophy, biography, history of ideas, and essays. He was for several years a columnist on the Guardian, the Times, and Prospect magazine. He has contributed to many leading newspapers in the UK, US and Australia, and to BBC radios 4, 3 and the World Service, for which he did the annual 'Exchanges at the Frontier' series; and he has often appeared on television. He has twice been a judge on the Booker Prize, in 2014 serving as the Chair of the judging panel. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a Vice President of Humanists UK, Patron of the Defence Humanists, Honorary Associate of the Secular Society, and a Patron of Dignity in Dying.
Dr. David Burton
Dr. David Burton is an acclaimed writer and director living in Meanjin. He is the award-winning playwright behind over thirty professional productions including April’s Fool, St. Mary’s In Exile and a diverse range of works studied in schools across the country. He is the author of two books and holds a doctorate in the Creative Industries.
Presented by QPAC
Facilitated by David Burton
A.C. Grayling is in Australia as the inaugural speaker of the Ngalang Koort Conversations, presented by Wesfarmers and the Foundation for the WA Museum.