On Friday 18th November JAGS became alive with Deep Thought, as 4 university lecturers, 120 students from 9 local schools, and of course the JAGS A-level Philosophy cohort, came together to investigate the mysteries of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Dr Nadine Elzein (Wadham, Oxford) started proceedings with a penetrating discussion of how human freedom of choice is possible in a world governed entirely by the laws of physics. Next up was Professor Paul Snowdon (UCL), who held his audience spellbound with a talk on the distinction (if there is one) between the person we are, and the human animal whose body we inhabit. Prof. Snowdon talked very persuasively about how we should make sense of phenomena such as multiple-personality disorder and the “loss” of personality at the end of life through dementia, and inspired some very thoughtful questions from the students.

After lunch the pace showed no sign of slackening, with Professor Barry C. Smith (Birkbeck) delivering an iconoclastic critique of modern philosophy of language; he may not quite have convinced everyone that “there is no such thing as the English language”, but he certainly inspired a lively response from the students. Finally, Dr Anita Avramides (St Hilda’s, Oxford) introduced her own attempt at a solution to the problem of how we know that any minds other than our own exist – the perfect conclusion to an intellectually demanding but ultimately very rewarding day.

Dr Howard Peacock