Stephen Law
Name
Stephen Law
Character is destiny. You are fascinating enough to be questionnaired by The Mind’s Construction. Starting with where and when you were born, could you briefly describe your life up to this point?
I was kicked out of sixth form college, became a postman in Cambridge for 4 years, discovered philosophy, entered university as a mature student, then went to Oxford for about 8 years doing a B.Phil, a D.Phil. and being a research fellow at Queens. Now teaching at Heythrop College, University of London and writing popular philosophy books. Also editor of THINK, the Royal Institute of Philosophy’s new journal for everyone.
There is no progress. Yet time relentlessly pursues you in one direction or another. If you were plotting your life’s trajectory on a graph, what would the line look like?
Er… well upwards I guess. It all seem to be going quite well at the moment.
Keep that line in mind. Describe the zenith. Relate the nadir.
Zenith: Now. Nadir: Postman
Consciousness is a mere ripple on the surface of the lake that is our mind. Tell me last dream you can remember having.
Um. I murdered someone and buried them in the back garden. Not sure I should be admitting that.
Truth is felt by instinct, a process which saves time and trouble. Choose – instinctively – from these:
Satisfied Fool or Dissatisfied Socrates?
Well it has to be Socrates, obviously.
Skimmed Milk or Full Fat?
Skimmed.
Boys or Girls?
Girls.
Standing Up or Sitting Down?
Standing.
Mum or Dad?
Dad.
Bookmarks or Folded Corners?
Bookmarks.
(If you had to be) Blind or Deaf?
Deaf.
Poetry or prose?
Prose.
Atheist or Believer?
Atheist.
Does the mind rule the body or the body rule the mind?
Mind the body.
Animal, Mineral or Plant?
Animal.
There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face. What are the differences between your external appearance and your internal make-up?
My mind is probably even more of a cess-pool than most people imagine.