Category Archives: Video

Philosophy, Prisons and the Middle Way – Andy West

There’s something about the high walls and noise of prisons that inclines inmates to think in absolutes. Inside, you’re either innocent or guilty, manly or emasculated. The in-betweens count for little. So what’s it like when prisoners do philosophy, asks Andy West? Does thinking in more open ways make it easier or harder to survive their sentence?

Andy West has taught Philosophy in a range of prisons as well as in primary schools. He is now writing a book about teaching philosophy in prisons which draws on personal experience of having relatives in prison as well as philosophical reflection and his teaching experience.

This session took place over Zoom at the Virtual Festival of the Middle Way, on 18th April 2020. The chair is Robert M. Ellis.

Science and the Middle Way – Jim Champion

Middle Way Philosophy offers a radically different paradigm to mainstream scientific naturalism because of its crucially different attitudes to ethics, scepticism, meaning and objectivity. Jim Champion explores this further in this talk. Dr Jim Champion has been teaching physics at schools in the south of England since 2004. His PhD is in theoretical physics. He is also secretary of the Middle Way Society and contributor to After Buddhism: A Workbook.

This talk took place over Zoom at the Virtual Festival of the Middle Way, on 18th April 2020. It is followed by questions from the audience.

Education, mindfulness and the Middle Way – Katherine Weare

Prof. Katherine Weare explores some key learning about cultivating mindfulness in education, including the messy challenges and joys helping ‘fix it’ educators begin with themselves, and to see the links between inner work and the system change they rightly demand. Prof. Katherine Weare is internationally known for her varied work on mindfulness and contemplative approaches in education, including recently heading up two policy major networks, keeping a handle on the empirical evidence base, writing an inspirational book with Thich Nhat Hanh and teaching mindfulness to local secondary school teachers.

This talk took place over Zoom at the Virtual Festival of the Middle Way on 19th April 2020, and is followed by questions from the audience.