7.30pm for 8pm | 29 November 2007
Spencer Room, Brook’s, 60 St James’s Street
‘Power and riches appear then to be, what they are, enormous and operose machines contrived to produce a few trifling conveniences to the body… Power and riches… keep off the summer shower, not the winter storm… leave [their possessor] always as much, and sometimes more exposed than before, to anxiety, to fear, and to sorrow; to diseases, to danger, and to death.’
‘And it is well that nature imposes upon us in this manner. It is this deception which… prompted them to cultivate the ground, to build houses, to found cities and commonwealths, and to invent and improve all the sciences and arts… The rich… consume little more than the poor, and in spite of their natural selfishness and rapacity, thought them mean only their own conveniency… they divide with the poor the produce of all their improvements. They are led by an invisible hand to make nearly the same distribution of the necessities of life which would have been made had the earth been divided into equal portions… and this without intending it, without knowing it, advance the interest of the society..’
– Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
City Circle
‘Ever since its origin in antiquity, “philosophy” has meant “enquiry”… What is the nature of the world?…What exists, what does it consist of and how can we know either accurately?…Which of the things that exist and happen in the world really matter?…What is valuable, ethically and aesthetically, and how do we decide?’
‘Every generation has to re-examine the questions of how to organise itself and comport itself morally. The duty to reflect – to challenge assumptions, to remain vigilant against the forces that seek to erode the gains humankind makes in the direction of liberty and rights – is perennial.’
– AC Grayling
Anyone who has an enquiring mind is engages in philosophy. It is not an academic preserve. Founded in 1996, the Forum for European Philosophy is an educational charity which aims to foster interest in philosophy by promoting discussion of contemporary issues between academics and non-academics.
The Forum’s new initiative in establishing a City Circle recognises that something extraordinary has been happening in the City and its financial markets in recent years which deserve close study by practitioners and academics alike.
Confounding those who questioned whether the City could even retain its pre-eminence as the leading financial centre in the European time zone, London has emerged as the leading global financial centre. It is a dramatic success story. Unprecedented sums of money flow through London everyday. The directions in which this money flows and the price at which it flows have profound effects on billions of lives across the globe. Financial instruments have proliferated, bringing a rich variety of new opportunities for both owners and users of capital. Regulation is light. Financial services have become the mainstay of the UK economy. Enormous wealth has been created in both corporate and private hands. Elemental forces are at work for both good and ill. Animal spirits abound and humanity must compete for its place. Here is a great and fascinating crucible and the purpose of the City Circle is to provide an opportunity for practitioners and academics to look into it together.
The City Circle offers two programmes of discussion:
The first is an invitation-only programme of Evening Forums. Details of the autumn programme appear here. It is hoped that many of our invited guests will choose to become permanent members of the City Circle by becoming Patrons of the Forum for European Philosophy and contributing £10,000 or more to the Forum’s long-term endowment.
The second is a service for City firms who would like the Forum for European Philosophy to arrange and moderate Private Forums for their senior staff who would like to engage with academics in debating either general or directly relevant philosophical and ethical issues. Firms may choose their own subject and charges are by agreement.
