Welcome to A View from the Orangery – a place to think

From a Roman roof-top orangery I could see so much.The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II glistened in that Roman afternoon heat that you can hear, taste and smell. But only so small a part was visible; so much was hidden. Orderliness and confusion. Iconic ambulance sirens. All life as an expression of will? Or the terrible freedom of Sartre’s waiter.

The world isn’t made up of -isms, but of people. People who can find themselves at the bottom of the pile; crushed by ideology, dominant narratives and unthinking utilitarianism. So yes, this site does celebrate philosophers, but actually it invites all thinkers of good will to look afresh at ideas and institutions.So welcome to this new Thinkspace.  The question we are posing here is this:

How does the world – its institutions, grand narratives and easy assumptions –  look when analysed by classical, modern and so-called post-modern thinking, underpinned with a belief in the dignity of the person. If this is meaningful to you, whatever your personal beliefs or non-beliefs, I would love to hear from you!

As the Course Leader for Catholic Education and the Common Good at the London Global Gateway I am passionate about generating debate and intelligent discussion around things that matter to me. Things like:

  • philosophies of education,
  • Christian post-structuralism in culture
  • Space for Hermeneutics, Deconstruction and Phenomenology
  • Continental philosophy in an ecclesial space
  • A contemporary Christian hermeneutic of law [jurisprudence]

But…this list is by no means exhaustive. This site is a place to think – not to set limits, qualifications or rules.  Click below if you want to submit a paper or have a resource reviewed.

Submission of papers

Request for Book Reviews

Welcome to a place for thinking. Deeply. Authentically. Respectful of dignity.

From a Roman roof-top orangery I could see so much.The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II glistened in that Roman afternoon heat that you can hear, taste and smell. But only so small a part was visible; so much was hidden. Orderliness and confusion. Iconic ambulance sirens. All life as an expression of will? Or the terrible freedom of Sartre’s waiter.

The world isn’t made up of -isms, but of people. People who can find themselves at the bottom of the pile; crushed by ideology, dominant narratives and unthinking utilitarianism. So yes, this site does celebrate philosophers, but actually it invites all thinkers of good will to look afresh at ideas and institutions.So welcome to this new Thinkspace.  The question we are posing here is this:

How does the world – its institutions, grand narratives and easy assumptions –  look when analysed by classical, modern and so-called post-modern thinking, underpinned with a belief in the dignity of the person. If this is meaningful to you, whatever your personal beliefs or non-beliefs, I would love to hear from you!

As the Course Leader for Catholic Education and the Common Good at the London Global Gateway I am passionate about generating debate and intelligent discussion around things that matter to me. Things like:

  • philosophies of education,
  • Christian post-structuralism in culture
  • Space for Hermeneutics, Deconstruction and Phenomenology
  • Continental philosophy in an ecclesial space
  • A contemporary Christian hermeneutic of law [jurisprudence]

But…this list is by no means exhaustive. This site is a place to think – not to set limits, qualifications or rules.  Click below if you want to submit a paper or have a resource reviewed.

Submission of papers

Request for Book Reviews

Email: suttley@nd.edu      Twitter: @simonuttley    aviewfromtheorangery.net