A85X Blog

I have not made any blog entries since withdrawing from A851 earlier in the year but have had enquiries as to my continued existence and well being so just wanted to reassure everyone that I am alive and well.

I decided to withdraw from the course because despite enjoying last year (and doing pretty well on the assessments/exam) I found that this year’s reading just wasn’t generating any enthusiasm in me. In retrospect I can see that the Political/Social focus of the course just doesn’t really fit well with my interests. I will probably look, in the future, to do a History & Philosophy of Science course which is where I think my philosophical heart is.

I am sorry that I couldn’t post anything to the forums, but the first thing that happens when you withdraw from a course is that you get barred from the forums.

On the home front things have been good but hectic: my daughter arrived home after her 14 months travelling and is now looking for a job. My son was due home after his four months travelling but was only home for two days before jetting off to Necker Island (Richard Branson’s island) for 5 weeks tennis coaching in a splendid Carribean setting (he always seems to fall on his feet). We have just acquired an 8 week old Hovawart puppy who is terrorising the household and our 11 year old Golden Retriever.

I seem to have been distracted from keeping the blog up to date. Perhaps its a consequence of the unseasonal weather that has meant I’ve been doing things that wouldn’t otherwise occupy me at this time of year.

I have found myself tidying up / cutting back things in the garden that I should normally be doing at the start of Spring and I’ve had some great walks on clear, sunny days. We were at the theatre in Sloane Square a few days ago and there were people sitting outside the cafes and restaurants for all the world as though it was Summer rather than mid-February.

A visit to the Kings Road, Chelsea is guaranteed to make one feel poor: we had a really nice lunch at the Phoenix in Smith Street and watched the locals coming in in their immaculate designer jeans. My wife did observe that eavesdropping on their conversations brought home the fact that one doesn’t seem to need to be bright to have lots of money!

We saw David Hare’s The Vertical Hour at the Royal Court. It was better than the reviews had led me to expect but after a relatively good first half (particularly the relationship between the son and his father) we felt that the second half added little. Some of the critics had complained about the simplicity of the political arguments made by the characters but this seemed to me irrelevant: it was much more a play about their relationships.

My family (wife, son, daughter) are all in Thailand at the moment: it was a good opportunity for my wife to use her half term week to see our daughter whom we haven’t seen for over 6 months and our son is just starting a few months travels in SE Asia. So I am home alone and fending for myself and looking after the dog!

Have been trying to come to grips with the A851 module and Methodological Individualism. It seems to me that the subject matter is relatively straight forward but is complicated by the agenda of the philosophers who insist on interpreting it in the light of their pet political theories. It reminds me of the ancients who formulated physical laws in terms of their theology or their metaphysical beliefs and didn’t regard observation as the way to understand what actually happens. An example: why should one judge the efficacy of a theory of social explanation by how well it supports or contradicts Marxism? Surely one should judge the theory by how well it explains observed behaviour and then judge Marxism by how well it corresponds or contradicts that observed behaviour / theory.

But then, perhaps I am just not cut-out to be a philosopher!

Went to the National Theatre to see Happy Now? by Lucinda Coxon. I think the West End Whingers comment that

“…. Or to put it another way, this is a play about a group of spoiled, solvent, educated, professional, married, middle class parents who aren’t content with their lives in spite of the fact that they have just about everything they could ever want. Breaks your heart just thinking about it, doesn’t it? Basically they all just needed a good slap in the Whingers’ view.”

is actually quite good summary. The first half was pretty witty with some good satire (but interesting to see a professional, white, midlle class National Theatre audience laughing at jokes which are very much about themselves) but I felt the second half lacked pace and also lost its satirical bite. It was OK overall but not a memorable production.

The weather forecast for the weekend hadn’t been very good which I thought would be good for getting into the A851 readings ….. but …. its been sunny and just right for both walks with the dog and a chance to take some pictures and for doing some gardening. Ended up doing jobs (cutting back Wisteria, grasses, ivy etc.) that I would normally expect to be doing at the start of Spring not on the first weekend in February.

Also almost forgot the start of the Six Nations but ended up watching England-Wales. It would have been better if I had forgotten it was on. It was painful to watch England throw away a good half-time lead with a display of monumental incompetence to end up losing 26-19 to Wales for the first time in twenty years at Twickenham.

The other distraction has been to start thinking about my trip (over 11 months away now) to Antarctica. The organising group have started a web forum for expedition members so that starts to make it seem much more real.

Expect future postings to contain a bit more philosophy - I really, really, really do need to knuckle down to some reading; perhaps if Surrey were snowbound for a couple of weeks?

Well, started the reading for A851 anyway. I think I am going to have an interesting time with the first Chapter / TMA since everything I have read so far leaves me feeling as though the philosophers involved are talking, if not nonsense, then in a very imprecise and confused manner. The subject is Methodological Individualism - briefly whether we can discuss society, institutions etc. as able to be explained in their own right and with their own purposes (functions) which can explain their existence or whether we have, always, to delve down into the  level of individuals and use explanations of their behaviour to then explain the higher level social institutions.

There is a distinct lack of understanding that the behaviour of an aggregate of individual elements can have a behaviour that is distinct from the behaviour of individual components without the need to invoke teleological explanations. Gasses don’t have the pressure/temperature characteristics thay have because of purpose, they have those characteristics because of the aggregate, statistical behaviour of the invidual gas molecules. But one cannot measure the pressure of an individual molecule only of the gas as a whole; the aggregate can have characteristics that only make sense in the context of the aggregate rather than the individual constituent. BUT this doesn’t mean one has to invent a purpose for the gas! If one wants to understand what happens with gasses it generally makes sense to work at the level of the aggregate behaviour but one should recognise that this doesn’t constitute an explanation of why the gas behaves as it does in the causal sense; that is firmly rooted in the behaviour of the individual molecules.

A line of argument (e.g. used by Cohen) seems to be:

1. I believe in A (e.g. Historical Materialism)
2. A is incompatible with B (e.g. Methodological Individualism)
3. Therefore B is wrong

Rather than defending A the philosopher uses his belief in A to “disprove” B.

It seems, to me, that the effort should go into disproving B directly rather than rejecting it simply because it challenges ones prior held beliefs.

In danger here of writing my first TMA, so better move on ……….

Saw No Country for Old Men as the cinema last week - disturbing film. Not so much because of the violence but because of the strange logic / morality behind that violence.

Last night saw a fascinating, funny, challenging play at the Trafalgar Studios - Angry Young Man by Ben Woolf and performed by the MahWaff Theatre Company. He is obviously a playwright to look out for in the future.

before A851 starts in earnest.

I’ve been reading John Rawls: A Theory of Justice to try and get ahead of the game so to speak. I am not sure I buy into his approach. I have a suspicion that Political Philosophy is a complex analytical framework built upon premises that are arbitrary (or intuitive). One thinks one is dealing with a sophisticated analytical model but it is only as valuable (or as legitimate) as the premises on which it is constructed but the brilliance of the analytical framework seduces you into thinking it is objective. Perhaps me and Political Philosophy aren’t meant to get on!

Recently listened to an audio book of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road which surprised me by how involving it was. It has the feel of a much earlier genre of Science Fiction coupled with some superb atmospheric, almost poetical, writing. This has given me an interest in this author. Just bought his book No Country for Old Men which is the basis of the Oscar and Bafta nominated film; so we are off to see that on Friday. Mark Kermode gave it an excellent review.

Had a really good weekend in Wales visiting some long standing friends - good food and a healthy walk along a river (which involved some off-path excursions into wooded banks to avoid the flooded footpath) and the Monmouth & Brecon canal.

A somewhat belated happy New Year to everyone.

As mentioned in the last entry we went to see the film of The Kite Runner with some trepidation but were delighted with the film which managed to stay largely faithful to the book and carry the atmosphere of the book with it. I can highly recommend it to anyone. Incidentally, if you haven’t Khaled Hosseini’s later novel - A Thousand Splendid Suns – then I cannot recommend it too highly although be warned it is a harrowing read.

We finally made the starting post with the floatation of Crimsonwing and on Tuesday, the first day of trading on the Malta Stock Exchange, the shares rose 20% from their issue price. So now we, as the Executive team, have to learn the nuances of running a public company as opposed to a private one. We had a large, succesful party on Monday night to celebrate all those that were involved in the IPO – including the HSBC, KPMG and Charts – at La Dolce Vita in St Julians, Malta. It has been a super week so far here in Malta - bright, sunny and warm (at least to the Brits) - and its a delight to be able to walk to a restaurant in the evening with just a light jumper on.

As an interesting alternative to work and philosophy I spent Saturday morning doing a trial run on photographing jewellery and handbags for a friend who runs a shop in Grayshott and who is revamping her website. Tricky stuff to light well so benefited from having the dry run. Will need to spend a day later this month doing the full set of final pictures.

James, my son, went off yesterday on the first stint of his travels – taking in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia - which is a prelude to four months in SE Asia. Claire makes us all jealous with her blog entries from India which she is clearly loving.

Happy Christmas to everyone.

Had a fairly quiet Christmas; our son, James, was at home (last year he was working in Egypt) but Claire, our daughter, is in India having just finished a three month project on Aids awareness and about to resume her travelling.

Went to see I am Legend last night – excellent film for 98 minutes which is ruined by the last 3 minutes – no doubt stuck on to give a rosy, happy positive ending for American viewers. Without spoiling the plot – leave when the grenade explodes – it then makes a far superior film. Will Smith is excellent as the main character, Robert Neville, but is out acted by his dog! Late last night started reading the book, by Richard Matheson, since it was strongly recommended by my daughter. It’s surprising that I haven’t read it as I used to be a great Science Fiction fan in the 70’s and read most of the classics. Perhaps I overlooked it because the book bridges between SF and Horror genres.

Off to see The Kite Runner this evening. Have some misgivings since it is a superb book that deserves to be turned into a superior film – will have to wait and see.

Forget to mention Stanfords (www.stanfords.co.uk) in my last entry. They are probably my favourite shop in London. Just North of Covent Garden they sell Maps and Travel Books (Guides, Travelling writing etc.) and thats it. Its like entering a world of endless possibilities.

Popped in yesterday prior to the theatre to buy a globe. We have had one in the kitchen for years on which we plan / review our travels but it is a little small (lacks details) and a bit out of date (still shows USSR) so felt the need for an upgrade. Now when it comes to globes one has to choose between looking impressive (e.g. ridges representing mountain ranges, or colours to show natural features) and being useful (showing lots of detail, having clear country boundaries). I chose the latter and bought the Strand Globe.

If you are near Covent Garden do visit the shop - if you have any travel yearnings its paradise!

Had a few days in Malta last week and managed to get some free time on the one day when it was sunny and warm (it was raining most of the rest of the time) and was able to pretend to be a tourist for part of the day.

The company float has gone exceptionally well with both the pre-allocation (to brokers) and the public subscription being heavily oversubscribed so when shares start trading should be at a premium.

While in Malta got my A850 exam and overall course results ……. very satisfactory. Before getting the results I kept telling myself that as long as I passed the results didn’t really matter to me …. but of course they do. Like the rest of the family if I do something I like to do it well. It’s not so much competitiveness as a desire to do something to the absolute best of ones ability and a strong reluctance to accept second best.

Went to the National Theatre last night to see Women of Troy. It was a 20 minute play extended to 90 minutes by long, irrelevant interludes of significant looks, dancing (yes I kid you not), locking and unlocking doors (no one could enter or leave the stage without first unlocking, opening, closing and re-locking a door or by opening / closing an industrial lift) and various pyrotechnics. Some of it was quite effective the first time but by the third or four (or twentieth) repetition it simply became irritating. I like the West End Whingers comment that “Anyway, the Women of Troy are imprisoned in a port-side warehouse (with more doors than a French farce)” - their review is actually fairly generous. I kept getting the feeling that the director (and various aids) sat around thinking about how many symbolic things they could put in the play. At probably the most tragic moment when the baby is being prepared for burial a pregnant woman walks slowly backwards across the stage - obviously symbolic of a reverse of birth - i.e. death - but it was so obvious as we sat their with nothing happening apart from this slow progression (it’s probably hard to walk fast if you are having to walk backwards with a pillow stuffed up your dress) that I found it comic which rather destroyed the whole atmosphere. There were some great pyrotechnics and a nice explosion on stage but somehow I can’t help feeling that one should remember a Euripides play for more than the fireworks!

OK, haven’t written any blog entries for almost two weeks. Haven’t really felt like writing anything. But lets get on with the show ………………..

Big event this week is that the A850 Exam and hence total course results are due by Friday! Fingers crossed.

Work has been busy with the float on the Malta Stock Exchange going ahead. We got MFSA approval and the pre-placement closed at the end of last week and the public offering opens this week. The shares themselves will start trading first week in January. Its been hard work but, particularly since its the first time I’ve been involved in anything like it, an exciting exercise. And of course all the parties involved (banks, stock brokers, listing authority etc.) have their own agendas which makes life interesting.

Saw the Golden Compass (film of Pullman’s Northern Lights, the first in the His Dark Materials trilogy) on Thursday evening. Its a brilliant book, a brilliant audio book, a great NT play and ………. a really poor film. What a disappointment. Clever special effects (the armoured bears are well done) but no real characterisation or depth to the story; I didn’t really care about what happened to any of the characters. If you have read the books the film is just too pale an imitation and if you haven’t read the books then most of the film is probably confusing or pointless.

By contrast a superb evening at the National Theatre last night - two short plays: Citizenship and Chatroom. Contemporary drama at its best. It was a shame that even the Cottesloe Theatre (the smallest of the three theatres that make up the NT) was only 2/3rds full. Perhaps its just too unconventional for the mainstay NT crowd. Quote from NT site:

Two short, sharp and provocative plays where the drama of teenagers’ lives takes centre stage. Direct and honest, they are intensely alive to the possibilities and pressures we face on the verge of adulthood.
Chatroom
a new play by Enda Walsh In cyberspace six 15-year-olds type and chat. A chilling and powerful tale of manipulation and the ultimate act of teenage rebellion.

‘A 60 minute masterpiece, a computer-age Lord of the Flies. The writing is taut, vivid, cool, scary and funny.’ The Times
Citizenship
a new play by Mark Ravenhill A bittersweet comedy about growing up, following a boy’s frank and messy search to discover his sexual identity.

‘One of his very best plays. Ravenhill captures excellently the sexual insecurity of adolescence as well as the infinite curiosity.’ Guardian

Weather is pretty miserable at the moment - had to force myself to go for a walk this morning (urged on by Sophie, the dog) but actually quite enjoyed it once I got out into the wilds.

Week before last saw the Lee Miller exhibition at the V&A.  I realised that I knew quite a few of her pictures but hadn’t associated them with her name. She was a model, turned photographer, turned reporter. For a time was Man Ray’s muse and worked with him on the solarisation techniques he pioneered.

Also that week we attended a private members evening at the Tate. Saw the Millais exhibition; a good collection of his work and well presented, but for me I think he pales beside his fellow Pre-Raphaelite Rossetti [my wife disagrees]. Also on was a retrospective of the Turner Prize winners and I got to see for the first time the famous (or infamous) Damien Hirst cows dissected in half and preserved in formaldehyde; it had always puzzled / revolted me but actually seeing it did give me a feeling for what he was trying to achieve [my wife simply thinks its weird].