The Morning
We are here, my sister and I traveled up from the Forest of Dean yesterday and set up our tent in preparation for four days of philosophy, music, comedy, and general festival fun. Even before the festival gets started later this afternoon Hay-on-Wye is buzzing with activity – with street vendors and street food everywhere and the many book shops already open for business.
After interviewing him about a month ago I am curious to see Hilary and the IAI’s vision in action. Can a festival where we watch great thinkers share their opinions give a richer learning experience than listening to them give a lecture? Will I see the discussion and speaker events ‘push the edge’ of our usual domain of thinking? And will the bands, singers, and comedians create an atmosphere that eliminates the status game and put all people involved in the festival on the same stage?
I have my day planned out with an afternoon of philosophy and an evening of comedy and music.
All photos are Jen's - check her out on Instagram
The Afternoon
Jen and I wandered up to the festival gates at 3 pm, and so didn’t have long to look around before joining the long queue for the first big philosophy event, ‘Nature: Friend or Foe?’.
Güneş Taylor, a biologist and science communicator, held the event together with great charm. She asked the guests about an assumption many of us hold, that nature is good and human intervention is evil.
Yuval Noah Harari, who zoom-called into the festival all the way from Tel-Aviv, wasted no time in bringing the discussion down to earth arguing that ‘humans can’t violate the laws of nature’ and therefore everything we do is natural. Human intervention and ‘nature’ is both good and bad. The ‘big question’ we should be asking is ‘does it cause harm?’
To his disappointment, but to the audience’s entertainment, Slavoj Žižek completely agreed with Yuval. So, the discussion quickly, but with great precision and insight, covered several topics and questions that surround the incredible complexity of nature and the human need to make sense of it and use it. Slojov brought psychoanalytic points into the fold and shared thoughts on the human perception of ‘good’ and the paradox that if someone takes their idea of ‘good’ to an extreme, they end up doing the very opposite of the thing they are fighting for. Nazism and Stalinism were obvious examples, but he also found them in Buddhism and Deep Ecology. Yuval’s pointed out his greatest concern, Life 2.0. As the sciences become more capable of developing inorganic life he asks about our responsibility as a species that can create a life that operates in a different way than any life that preceded it.
I left the tent spinning with thoughts. For me, this discussion wasted no time in ‘pushing the edge’ of my understanding of nature and the impact of human intervention. The only thing it lacked was time to unpack these ideas!
After the event, I met Hilary Lawson in Waterfront Bar for a chat. He was brimming with the sort of excitement that reminded me of my first days as a student at university, that time when you realise there is a huge and majestic world of unanswered questions to explore. I asked him which events he expected to really ‘push the edge’ this year. He responded, ‘I hope we push the edge in everything we do!’ and shared that ‘hopefully almost everything’ would be surprising or unexpected because ‘being at the edge means it is constantly evolving and seeing it differently in the light of whatever is going on’.
He pointed out, however, that recent unexpected world events ‘have changed the entire framework that most of us are going to live in for the next fifty years’. Even whilst we were enjoying some time by the River Wye a discussion on ‘The World in Jeopardy’ was taking place in the tent just behind us. He reminded me once again ‘that the idea philosophy is in a little hermetically sealed box and is not alive and kicking every moment of the time is a mistake’.
We talked about how the beauty and atmosphere of the festival space play a role in keeping people open to ideas. We both agreed that this will impact people’s thinking and make it easier for everyone to explore and share their own opinions. We also explored how
the festival continues to evolve in order to enhance the experience of the most ‘profound philosophers’ in the space, the children. They have their own tent (cleverly called ‘Mind Craft’), and programme full of workshops. Including some discussion sessions from The Philosophy Foundation!
It’s now about 6 pm and there is still plenty to see and do. Jen and I said goodbye to Hilary and, now brimming with the same sort of excitement, will head back to the Arena tent to catch some of the discussion on ‘The Status of Things’.
The Evening
Our evening started with Mary-Ann Ochota, a TV anthropologist with a serious knack for bringing out the mysteries and fun of human pre-history. We first watched her share her opinions in a discussion of ‘The Status of Things’ alongside Steve Taylor and Paul Dolan. Usually, I am someone who has quite an anti-materialistic view of the world (in other words, I think it is better not to own things), but Mary-Ann’s opinions helped me see ownership in a more positive light and thus the conversation with Steve and Paul opened my mind to a deeper understanding of the relationship between humans and the things humans own. An educational experience that was promised to me by Hilary and the IAI.
A little bit later on we then had the pleasure of watching Mary-Ann speak about her book ‘Secret Britain’ as she shared with us the things that made her ask ‘What were they thinking?!’ 8000-year-old religious sites, possible cannibalism, and ‘mixed up’ mummies that were 300 years older than the dwelling they are buried under. Despite being an expert in the field she enjoyed reminding her audience that our guess was as good as hers! And whilst listening to this talk we could hear a band in the next tent start to play. Mary didn't let it distract her talk and seemed to even like it. I am reminded of something Hilary said to me last month, about how music is a universal language that interrupts the status game and reminds us we are all the same.
We tumbled out of this tent straight into the next one. Out of a lecture on British pre-history into a comedic act about the life of a black woman from Barbados living in London. I laugh hard and I am pleasantly reminded of the educational experience comedy can give us. I quickly gain more insight into some of those topics we find hard to discuss, such as racism, mental health, drugs and sex.
Our evening ended with music. First, a relaxing chai tea at the Blue Moon Café (a tent decorated with a Bohemian theme) to listen to a sweet acoustic guitar and singing set with Alex Seel. Second, dancing with a large crowd to Groove Armada DJ, Tom Findlay. I find I cannot get my head around the fact that only a few hours ago I was sitting in the same space watching Yuval and Slajov talking about nature. Finally, we catch the end of a band playing some great covers in The People’s Living Room (probably the weirdest tent on site!).
It is now almost midnight. Jen and I will head back to the campsite. It is obvious the festival will continue for another couple of hours, but it's time for some rest. There are another three days of philosophy and festivities ahead of us and I want to embrace as much of this experience as I can.
The first day has been amazing. Insightful, beautiful, and exciting - reminding me of all the reasons why I started studying philosophy in the first place. My expectations for the rest of the festival are high!
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