Lecture on free will and human responsibility

Tuesday 8 February 2011

An opportunity not to be missed!!

Free will and brain determinism, the idea that cognition is determined by prior events, are to be the topic of an upcoming lecture at the University of Cambridge’s Faraday Institute.

Professor Peter Clarke from the University of Lausanne will discuss the various approaches used in philosophical defences of free will and human responsibility. Libertarian positions imply freedom in decision making processes, for example, by invoking the existence of a disembodied soul and often using Heisenbergian uncertainty to support their argument.

In this seminar, Professor Clarke uses a variety of studies, including ones into the resistance of cells and thermal noise, to discount the potential perturbations of the uncertainty principle. He will reject the idea of behaviour as a product of soley genetic and environmental influences and argue for a compatibilist approach, the belief that free will and determinism are compatible and it is feasible to believe both.

The Faraday Institute Seminar is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 8 February at 1 pm (lunch from 12.30pm) at The Garden Room, St. Edmund's College, Cambridge. It is not necessary to RSVP but it is recommended that attendees arrive early to guarantee a seat.

The Teaching of the King - published 2 Feb 2011

The Teaching of the King


Sunday Thoughts

(Year C)


David Mawson



Published 2 February 2011

Published By Jacquedaw

ISBN 978-0-9565118-2-9

Price £9.99 (+ £2.00 P+P)


Available from Amazon or


Jacquedaw, 17 Steepside

SHREWSBURY SY3 6DS

Cheques to ‘David Mawson’


This this the second of a series of three books of thoughts and meditations on the Readings of the Church Year.

They are offered not as difficult theology but as everyday encouragement to those who would learn to identify the King whose Kingdom we serve and find out more about his teaching and what implication that teaching has for how we live our lives.
There is no strictly ordered theme. The lessons build and are expounded as the readings lead from week to week. Most of the themes and ideas are as they were preached in parish churches or expanded in group study

Identity Cards now invalid

From midnight tonight identity cards can no longer be used to prove identity or to travel in Europe.

The cards have been scrapped by the government under the Identity Documents Act.

Within days the National Identity Register - which was designed to hold the details of card holders - will be destroyed.
Laid to rest

Immigration minister Damian Green said: 'Laying ID cards to rest demonstrates the government's commitment to scale back the power of the state and restore civil liberties.

'It is about the people having trust in the government to know when it is necessary and appropriate for the state to hold and use personal data, and it is about the government placing their trust in the common-sense and responsible attitude of the people.'
Change in law

Card holders will no longer be able to use the cards to prove their identity or as a travel document in Europe.

The Identity and Passport Service (IPS has written to all existing cardholders and informed international border agencies, travel operators and customers of the change in law.

Happy Christmass!

I managed to get to a little village called Clive to celebrate Midnight Mass. The temperature was forecast as -18 to -20 and it was foggy! Saw very few brass monkeys, but a very enthusiastic and welcoming congregation of about 40. Lovely carols and a sense of peace and the presence of Christ. I wonder where some of us will be by next year?

Days getting longer again!!

I'm pleased that the winter solstice is passed and we can look forward to summer again! Must dust off the sun loungers and clear the snow off the BBQ!

The congregation arrives early for Mass....

The congregation began to arrive early for the Vigil Mass so that they could get home in time for "Strictly Come Dancing"!

Archbishop Bernard Longley to chair ARCIC

Archbishop Bernard Longley is to be the Catholic co-chair of the third ARCIC, or Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission. This is significant because of Archbishop Longley's record as a conservative. Coming in the context of the Ordinariate being launched at about the same time the third series of ARCIC talks will be announced, it shows that Rome is taking dialogue with the Anglicans more seriously than ever in light of recent developments. In other words, the Ordinariate is not a poaching exercise, but a further step along the road in the process overseen by ARCIC.