HowTheLightGetsIn, the world’s largest music and philosophy festival, has released its full programme for the HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2023 event, taking place from the 26-29th May 2023 in the idyllic booktown of Hay-on-Wye, Wales. From Nobel Laureates and Pullitzer-Prize winners to political activists, HowTheLightGetsIn boasts an unparalleled gathering of the world’s leading thinkers. This year will see none other than firebrand philosopher Slavoj Žižek, key adversary to Trump Fiona Hill, superstar string-theorist Brian Greene, former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, visionary economist Gillian Tett, and masterful novelist Esther Freud, amongst a wealth of other notable speakers. 

Following the theme Error and Renaissance, the festival will see thinkers across the fields of philosophy, science, politics and art come head to head to work through our present moment, find new ways of understanding the world and rebuild afresh.

 

The HowTheLightGetsIn festival in Hay-on-Wye is a unique platform for philosophers, writers, academics, comedians, and musicians to come together and explore some of the most important and thought-provoking ideas of our time. Hosted by the Institute of Art and Ideas, this festival is designed to bring philosophy out of the academy and into the lives of everyday people, with a range of activities, talks, debates, workshops, and parties to engage and entertain attendees.

At this year's festival, I am thrilled to host two exciting events: the Philosophy of Time Travel and Exploring Ownership.

 In the Philosophy of Time Travel event, we will be diving deep into the nature of time itself, exploring what it is and what it means to travel through it. With the help of a time machine, we will take a journey through time and consider how it relates to our experience of the world.

In the Exploring Ownership event, we will embark on an adventure through history, back to the days of cavemen and cavewomen before anyone owned anything. Together, we will explore the fascinating story of how humans first came to develop a concept of what’s mine and what’s yours and how it has shaped our understanding of property, resources, and wealth.

These events are designed to be engaging, interactive, and thought-provoking, inviting attendees to participate in the discussion and challenge their own assumptions about the world around them. By exploring some of the most fundamental ideas that underpin our societies and cultures, we hope to encourage attendees to think critically and creatively about the world they inhabit and their place within it.

The festival promises to be a vibrant and exciting event, so whether you're a philosophy enthusiast or simply curious about the world around you, HowTheLightGetsIn offers a unique opportunity to engage with some of the brightest minds of our time and explore with them some of the most pressing questions. If you're interested in attending the Philosophy of Time Travel or Exploring Ownership events, be sure to grab a festival ticket and come along for the ride!

By Steven Campbell-Harris, specialist philosophy teacher at The Philosophy Foundation 

 

More details on HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2023, the world's largest music and philosophy festival taking place in the idyllic book town of Hay, Wales this 26-29th May, can be found here. As a festival partner, The Philosophy Foundation is offering a 20% discount on tickets with the code PHILFOUND23. Don't miss out on tickets here.

For those of you who can't be with us in person, all the debates and talks from the festival will gradually be released online in the months following the festival on the Institute of Art and Ideas online platform, IAI.TV.