Digest Week 6 Michaelmas Term 2026
MT26, Week 6 (15 November - 21 November)
If you have entries for the weekly Digest, please send information to admin@philosophy.ox.ac.uk by midday, Tuesday the week before the event.
For events occurring at the Institute for Ethics in AI, see here.
Notices
Other Philosophy events, including those taking place elsewhere in the university and beyond
Avicenna Reading Group
Convenor: Ibrahim Safri
Date: Tuesday, 17 November, 2–3:30pm
Venue: Magdalen College, McFarlane Library
The theory of time remains one of the most complex and significant subjects of inquiry, central to both philosophical and physical discourse globally. Throughout the history of world philosophy, this concept has been continually refined, spanning Late Antiquity and Neoplatonism through to Islamic, Medieval, and Early Modern philosophical traditions. Within the global corpus of Arabic philosophy, diverse interpretations of time have emerged, shaped by three primary perspectives that influenced Islamic medieval conceptions of this theory. This reading class will focus on Avicenna’s The Physics of The Healing, in which he presents various notions of time before establishing his own account.
This MT26, and following a comprehensive introduction to the concept of time in global Arabic philosophy, we will continue with Chapter 11, on the Essence of Time.
Text: Avicenna, The Physics of The Healing; a Parallel English-Arabic Text. Translated by: Jon McGinnis. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2009.
The Place of Christianity in Public Bioethics
Convenor: Andrew Moeller
Date: Thursday, 19 November, 5.30pm
Venue: Seminar Room 8, St Anne's College, Oxford
This panel discussion, the first in a larger series that will be looking at various religious and faith traditions, will examine how different streams of Christian thought in the past and present have conceived of the role(s) and relative authority of Christian beliefs within public bioethical debates.
Please note, due to fire safety regulations, seating is limited, and so it is advised to arrive early to ensure a seat.
For further information please click here
Beyond Afflictions: Christianity and Buddhism on the Bonds of Suffering
Speakers: Reginald Mary Chua OP and Geshe Tenzin Namdak
Date: Saturday 21 November, 2–4pm
Venue: Aula, Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford
What are the bonds at the root of human suffering? The traditions of Christianity and Buddhism offer explanations of the nature of that bondage and the shape of freedom from it. In this exchange, we discuss this question from the vantage point of two particular traditions: the Dominican and the Indo-Tibetan. The Dominican tradition sheds light on the Christian concepts of sin, separation from God, and union with God through Christ. The Indo-Tibetan tradition sheds light on the nature of saṃsāra, the afflictive passions of greed, hatred, and delusion that bind beings to it, and the insight cultivated through the path of mind training, which frees one from this bondage. The goal of the exchange will be to explore connections between topics such as confession and mindfulness, divine forgiveness and dependent origination. We will also aim to sharpen each other's account of freedom, identifying common ground without losing what makes each distinct.
This event is organised by Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford, in collaboration with Jamyang London Buddhist Centre and Science & Wisdom LIVE.
If you wish to attend in person, please register at: pia.jolliffe@bfriars.ox.ac.uk
If you wish to attend online, please register at: https://sciwizlive.com/event/beyond-afflictions/