The thoughts that shape my writing
Fragments of history, reflections on memory, and glimpses of the human thread that runs through it all.
Aristotle: The Philosopher Who Inspired Monty Python
I’m a man of a certain age and, like many students in the 1970s, I adored the zany, intellectual comedy of Monty Python. That’s why whenever I hear or think of the name Aristotle, like one of Pavlov’s dogs, I instantly add: ‘was a bugger for the bottle’.
It’s a line from The Philosophers’ Song, a gloriously silly pub singalong that managed to name-check most of Western philosophy between rounds of beer.
Plato’s Cave, Now Streaming in 4K
After Socrates drank the hemlock, someone had to tidy up the conversation. Enter Plato: philosopher, organiser, and the man who turned confusion into curriculum.
If Socrates was philosophy’s street busker, Plato was the one who built the concert hall.
The Dangerous Art of Asking Questions
Growing up in south Wales, I never accepted what anyone told me at face value. I always wanted to know why. If it rained for days on end — which it frequently seemed to do — I wanted to know what caused it. I wasn’t especially bright. Just incurably curious. Rather like a 20th Century young Socrates!
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.
The Man Who Thought Everything Was Made of Water
Next we move from one who found truth in stillness to one who found it in motion: Thales of Miletus, the man who thought everything was made of water.
The Buddha
Before Plato built his Republic or Descartes began doubting his own existence, the Buddha was already onto something: that maybe the mind is both the problem and the key.
Big Ideas (Some I Understand, Some I Don’t and Some That Make My Brain Explode)
At the time of writing this (2025), I’ve been on this lump of rock we call home for seventy-one summers. In January 2026, I’ll be entering my seventy-second winter, and I hope there are many more left. But who knows?
The Future Never Arrives
We spend much of our lives waiting. Waiting for the right time, the next opportunity, the moment when life will finally begin. But here’s the hard truth: the future never arrives. When it comes, it isn’t the future anymore — it’s just today.
Bertrand Russell Warned Us About Fools and Fanatics — We Should Listen Now
I’ve been interested in philosophy and the meaning of life for decades. One philosopher I admire greatly is Bertrand Russell. The more I learn about his life, the more I notice small, unexpected parallels with my own.
Wittgenstein in the Age of Social Media
Wittgenstein wrote one of the most challenging books on philosophy to read. This is a simple guide.
Orwell in the Age of Trump
In 1949 George Orwell wrote what many consider his masterpiece, 1984. What can it teach us about what’s happening in the world today?
The Pursuit of Purpose
Defining purpose is deeply personal. For some, it’s in learning. For others, it’s in creativity, health, service, relationships, or compassion.
Purpose doesn’t always look dramatic. It might show up in daily kindness. In gentle consistency. In noticing what others rush past.
Your Truth, My Truth, No Truth?
In a world drowning in half-truths and curated realities, can we still agree on what’s true—or does truth even matter anymore?
This post explores how truth has shifted from a shared foundation to a contested battleground. From ancient faith to modern politics, from Nietzsche’s “truth as illusion” to Foucault’s “truth as power,” we examine how belief, influence, and technology have turned truth into a moving target.
If we want to stay grounded in an age of spin, outrage, and viral manipulation, we need to stop asking only “Is this true?”—and start asking “Who benefits if I believe it?”
Freedom in a World of Algorithms
Are you really making free choices — or just following invisible nudges? This piece explores how modern power doesn’t restrict us but subtly shapes us through algorithms, feeds, and endless distractions. Drawing on Rousseau, Berlin, Foucault, and Sartre, it asks: in a world designed to predict and guide our behaviour, is freedom still possible?
Stay curious. Question the feed. Real freedom begins when we choose to think beyond what’s handed to us.
A Philosophical Journey of Self-Discovery
University wasn’t just about textbooks and lectures for me. It was a portal to a whole new world.
The Coffee Shop Conundrum
In the rush of everyday life, how often do we truly pause and just be? On a long, slow drive home from Oxford, a chance encounter with a Buddhist nun at a motorway service station became an unexpected lesson in presence. Amid the chaos of busy roads and distracted drivers, she shared a simple piece of wisdom passed to her by the Dalai Lama: “Be Here Now.”
This isn’t a story about road trips — it’s a reminder that peace isn’t found in getting somewhere faster, but in being fully present where you are.