Selected Works: On Knowledge
Back to school reflections on the invaluable practice of learning, reflection, and the pursuit of knowledge.
I live next to a primary school with a sprawling playground in West London. The sound of children playing is one of those everyday symphonies you don’t notice until it disappears. Since June, I’ve been filling the quiet with Phoebe Lovatt’s Deep Read, Critics at Large, Tara Brach, and a healthy rotation of Cocteau Twins and Addison Rae. Still, the audible company of the playground has been dearly missed over the summer months.
The past couple of weeks, I guess i’ve felt myself moving through an undercurrent of melancholy - watching the leaves tint orange, knowing summer is slipping away. But this morning, as I was getting ready, I heard that forgotten hum of the cars pulling up, children arriving back at school, welcoming one another with palpable excitement. And with that came an unexpected sense of not only acceptence as Fall approaches, but excitement for new beginnings, and these small rhythms that anchor us into the present of changing seasons.
It got me thinking: even though the long, unstructured summer holidays of childhood are behind us, there’s still something lovely about carrying the spirit of “back to school” into our grown-up lives. Not through timestables, sparkly gel pens & and a plethora of soft-pastel new highlighters per say (though tempted to relive the joy of stocking a new pencil-case). But rather through the act of making the time for self-directed study - leaning into what excites us, what sparks our curiosity. The books we reach for, the ideas we want to understand and what new skills we want to learn. Studying for ourselves, for pleasure: a way of honoring our deeply human pull toward both curiosity and growth.
So in that spirit, please find below is a selection of works on the invaluable practice of learning, reflection, and the pursuit of knowledge.
SELECTED WORKS: ON KNOWLEDGE
On the invaluable practice of learning, reflection, and the pursuit of knowledge.
THE VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY by BERTRAND RUSSELL [ESSAY]
An essay that explores the intrinsic worth of philosophical inquiry ~ a practice that begins with a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world, in the pursuit of knowledge and personal development. Here, Russel inspires us to nurture our own curiosity and love of wisdom, through philosophy as an exploration of fundamental questions regarding existence, human experience.
DEAD POETS SOCIETY dir. by PETER WEIR, 1989 [FILM]
Set in a British preparatory school, this film follows an inspirational teacher who demonstrates the transformative power of education to his students, who come to represent ourselves as viewers. Underscoring the value of literature and poetry as means of self-expression, reflection, and emotional connection, we are inspired to think critically, embrace literature, and seize the day to make choices that align with our authentic selves rather than blindly conforming to societal norms.
THEORY AS LIBERATORY PRACTICE by BELL HOOKS
An essay within the book Teaching to Transgress in which feminist scholar and activist, bell hooks, explores the role of theory as an empowering practice of personal, social and political liberation. She advocates for a personal pedagogy of curiosity, highlighting that we ought to remember theory is not limited to academia, but can be accessible and applicable in our daily life to engage in critical thinking.
RELATIVE TRUTH VS. ULTIMATE TRUTH by JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN [PODCAST EPISODE]
In the 88th episode of “Insight Hour,” Joseph Goldstein (one of the key figures in bringing mindfulness to the West), explores the distinction between balancing our trust in the “relative truth” of our daily, lived experience and the “ultimate truth” that transcends temporal conditions. Joseph suggests that by cultivating a deeper understanding of the ultimate truth of impermanence and the interconnectedness of all things, we can develop a more profound and unshakable sense of peace and trust in the fundamental nature of reality.
SLOUCHING TOWARDS BETHLEHEM by JOAN DIDION [ESSAY COLLECTION]
In this collection of essays, Didion paints a vivid picture of the social and cultural upheaval of the 1960’s in California. Through her depiction of a society in flux, grappling with uncertainty and transformation she invites us as readers to reflect on our own lives, the world around us and our place in it.
