Summer Series No.1 - Dostoevsky

Fyodor Dostoevsky — The Grand Inquisitor
Wed 27 May & Wed 3 Jun
This is a short, self-contained chapter from The Brothers Karamazov, in which Ivan tells his brother Alyosha a "poem" he has imagined: Christ returns to earth during the Spanish Inquisition, and is arrested and interrogated by a Cardinal who explains why the Church has had to correct his work. It's one of the most influential passages in 19th-century literature - a sustained argument about freedom, authority, and whether human beings actually want the burden of choosing for themselves. We'll spend two weeks on it, so there's time to read & to discuss & to work out what's going on - come along to either or both sessions.

Who are we?
We're a reading group that welcomes all - young, old, completely new to philosophy or well versed, from keen students to those who've never darkened the door of a lecture room. We read both long & short texts, but you don't need to join at the very start of our longer reads - you can come along at any stage of the journey. Our conversations are lively, wide-ranging & respectful.

We usually head to the pub to continue the discussion after our meetings.