The ideas that shape us
Essays on history, thought and the human condition.
Read chronologically or by theme.
History· Philosophy · Culture
Thomas Hobbes: The Philosopher of Fear
Hobbes thought civilisation exists for one clear reason: people can't be trusted with total freedom. Writing during the English Civil War, he said order needs a strong state to keep everyone in line. His grim view of human nature still influences how we see authority, security, and the fragile deal that holds modern society together.
Machiavelli: The Original Spin Doctor
Niccolò Machiavelli was the man who taught politics to stop pretending it had morals. The original spin doctor, he replaced divine right with human cunning and turned survival into an art form.
When Characters Refuse to Let Go
When I left corporate life at seventy, I needed to fill the void. I’d photographed for decades and made thousands of images and a few coffee-table books, but lately it bored me. I felt uninspired and reluctant to shoot.
History Isn’t Objective — and Pretending It Is Is Dangerous
I’ve recently completed my second historical fiction novel, The Silence of the White Shadow, set in Victorian Britain. That means my desk — and my head — are cluttered with research: industrial towns, social reformers, courtroom dramas, even the odd ship’s manifest.
How a Triangle Changed Everything
The world seems chaotic: noise without rhythm, movement without meaning. Pythagoras saw otherwise. He found pattern and proportion — everything as number: harmony hidden in motion, maths beneath music, patterns behind every note, shape and star.
The Man Who Thought Everything Was Made of Water
The world once seemed senseless: storms, plagues, misfortune blamed on angry gods. Thales proposed a different idea — the universe governed by observable forces, not moods. He argued everything arose from water. It sounds odd now, but it was the first attempt to explain the world without Olympus — the birth of reason from a single question: “Shall we think about it?”
The History Behind Unseen Souls
Before industrialisation, Dowlais was a quiet, scattered upland community nestled in the Brecon Beacons. That’s quickly changed forever …
J.M.W. Turner: A Trailblazer in Art
Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 1775–19 December 1851), the English artist, is one of my favourite artists and a huge inspiration. His work was ground breaking and unique. He changed the ‘rules’ and painted light and colour rather than objects and scenes.