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

Flags of Inconvenience

In wishing a happy St George’s Day to all who call England their home – which right now includes my London class – I am reminded of the true value of patriotism. To belong, share a language, a common story, a sense of humour. To take pride in our heroes and seek a coherent national narrative, whether or not one exists or is even desirable. As sociable animals we recognise our best interests lie not in isolation but in the group.

The flag is surely a symbol of welcome, of belonging, of hospitality. It ceases to be this when it is used as a weapon. When it is used as a means to ‘other’ individuals and groups and deny them the absolute hospitality that any flag should symbolise.

In fact, of course, it is, like the humans who design it – both positive and negative. It is an aporia – a conundrum. An inconvenient reminder that we constantly run the risk of excluding ‘the other’ in our thirst for self-identity. Indeed it is, to an extent, inevitable. What is not inevitable is that it should be exploited. No surprise that the malevolent old prey on the innocent young by providing them not with a clear view of appropriate self and group identity but, instead, with a fairground mirror of distortion. First, sketch out your enemy in cartoon form; then demonise the caricature you have produced; then destroy him.

So hang the flag of St George high on the flag post and proclaim ‘this is England’. Drape it out of the bedroom window. Festoon your car with it and fashion tee-shirts with its scarlet cross. But let’s do so proclaiming Englishness as a touchstone for justice, for fairness, for decency and dignity. But most of all, let it be a beacon of welcome for the traveller, whatever passport or nationality the traveller carries. Happy St George’s Day.