London’s historic Fleet Street played host to the launch of the Reel Philosophers film club last week, an initiative designed to foster critical thinking through an innovative blend of art, philosophy, and debate. Photos by: Kenan Korkmaz (www.kenankorkmaz.co.uk)
Fleet Street played host to the launch of the Reel Philosophers film club, an initiative designed to foster critical thinking through an innovative blend of art, philosophy, and debate. The event, attended by around 30 intellectuals and enthusiasts, marked the beginning of an interdisciplinary experiment aimed at deepening public discourse.
Reel Philosophers, co-produced by Philosophy for All and Reputy, is part of the Human RenAIssance series in Fleet Street Quarter aiming to connect the business community and develop human intelligence. The inaugural gathering featured an introduction to critical thinking, screening of Wag the Dog, a 1997 American political satire film starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, followed by discussions facilitated by the resident philosophers.
Helen Rantsevitch welcomed the guests and panellists. The event’s panel featured distinguished thinkers who shared their perspectives on the intersection of media, philosophy, and critical reasoning.
Anja Steinbauer highlighted the fragility of the public sphere: “The public sphere is the space between the state and citizens. Philosophers such as Habermas and Chomsky explain how it is not the locus of free speech that we’d like it to be. Rather, it is vulnerable to manipulation. The media play a key role in this.”
Rick Lewis addressed the nature of consciousness and its susceptibility to external influence:
“Consciousness is always consciousness of something. This is called intentionality. Its focus can be redirected by politicians and the media.”
“Can films do critical thinking?” said Peter Worley while commenting on the role of film in sparking intellectual inquiry. “ They can start it. By putting something into question—such as how information is controlled (and how far this can go)—a film can activate an audience into thinking about it. Films provide the space to begin the dialogue, and in this sense, just like the drama of Ancient Greece, they are dialectical. But we must recognize the limits of this sort of critical engagement; we mustn’t forget to critique the critique and see that this kind of media can mislead even while pointing out how we are being misled.”
“It is important to distinguish critical thinking from narrative thinking,” said Alexandra Konoplyanik. “Narrative thinking is our human default, and the media often makes good use of this tool to engage its audiences. However, stories, whether genuine or fabricated, first and foremost appeal to our emotions—as opposed to thinking. So replacing one story with another story is not critical thinking. To do the latter, one needs to focus on facts and logical links between them.”
The organisers thanked various institutions and individuals for their support to the event. The list includes Fleet Street Quarter BID and Lady Lucy French OBE; DasDas Arts and Culture Hub and the Royal Institute of Philosophy.
As the Reel Philosophers film club embarks on its journey, it promises to serve as a hub for rigorous intellectual engagement, where film becomes a medium for philosophical exploration and critical debate.
