It Sings Therefore We Are: Philosophy and Music in Conversation

Oxford Philosophy Professor Paul Lodge hosts an evening with legendary music journalists Sylvie Simmons and David Fricke, BBC Radio 6 DJ Gideon Coe, and poet and musician Grzegorz Kwiatkowski.

Music and the search for philosophical wisdom have a long association – from the medieval canticles of Hildegard von Bingen and Schubert’s and Mahler’s settings of the poetry of Goethe and Nietzsche, to the songs of artists such as Leonard Cohen, Nina Simone, Paul Simon, Laurie Anderson, and Talking Heads and classic concept albums such as Tommy, The Dark Side of the Moon, and Tales from Topographic Oceans.

At this event, Paul will explore how philosophy has resonated with his guests during their time working in the music industry, the ways in which the interplay between the two has shaped their own lives, and the potential they see for exciting synergies between them in the future.