John Gray draws together the religious, philosophic and fantastical traditions that question the very idea of human freedom. We flatter ourselves about the nature of free will and yet the most enormous forces - biological, physical, metaphysical - constrain our every action. Many writers and intellectuals have always understood this, but instead of embracing our condition we battle against it, with everyone from world conquerors to modern scientists dreaming of a 'human dominion' almost comically at odds with our true state.
John Gray is the author of a number of highly regarded books including False Dawn, Straw Dogs and most recently The Silence of Animals. He has taught at Oxford, Harvard, Yale and LSE. This event marks the publication of The Soul of the Marionette.
Danielle Sands is a Fellow at the Forum for European Philosophy.
The Forum for European Philosophy (@LSEPhilosophy ) is an educational charity which organises and runs a full and varied programme of philosophy and interdisciplinary events in the UK.
This event forms part of the LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival 2015, taking place from Monday 23 - Saturday 28 February 2015, with the theme 'Foundations'.
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSElitfest
Podcast
A podcast of this event is available to download from The Soul of the Marionette: a short inquiry into human freedom
Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.