Uploaded March 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Ideas@theHouse: March 2023 — recorded at Government House Sydney on 2 March 2023
“Aristotle on life and thought in the sub-lunary sphere”
Dr John Vallance FRSN FAHA
State Librarian of New South Wales
#philosophy
Timing Marks: presentation starts at 08:17
00:00:00 Introduction to The Hon. Andrew Bell SC, Lieutenant Governor of NSW: Christopher Sullivan, Deputy Official Secretary to the Governor of NSW
00:00:54 Introduction to the presenter, Dr John Vallance: The Hon. Andrew Bell SC, Lieutenant Governor of NSW and Chief Justice, Supreme Court of NSW
00:08:17 Presentation: Dr John Vallance FRSN FAHA
00:48:28 Audience Q&A: moderated by Professor Duncan Ivison FRSN FAHA, University of Sydney
01:01:48 Vote of Thanks: Dr Susan Pond AM FRSN FTSE FAHMS, President, Royal Society of NSW
Summary: Early in the sixteenth century, Raphael imagined the pantheon of ancient philosophers in a famous picture called “The School of Athens”. Aristotle appears there as a relatively young man amongst the bearded savants, and this lecture aims to show that his vigorous intellectual presence is still very much felt today, especially in the biological sciences, jurisprudence, ethics, political theory, and literary criticism.
Aristotle’s thought is notoriously complex and difficult to grasp - even in general terms. Dr Vallance will attempt an exposition of the structure and purpose behind Aristotelian philosophy accessible to the non-philosopher and will throw in some Aristotelian tips for living well and productively along the way.
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Dr John Vallance is the NSW State Librarian. The first part of his career was spent as a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College Cambridge, where he taught Greek, Latin and ancient philosophy. Then he served as Headmaster of Sydney Grammar School between 1999 and 2017. He has published widely in the field of ancient philosophy and medicine - including a large number of articles intended for the non-specialist reader, in the Oxford Classical Dictionary.
Ideas@theHouse: March 2023 — recorded at Government House Sydney on 2 March 2023
“Aristotle on life and thought in the sub-lunary sphere”
Dr John Vallance FRSN FAHA
State Librarian of New South Wales
#philosophy
Timing Marks: presentation starts at 08:17
00:00:00 Introduction to The Hon. Andrew Bell SC, Lieutenant Governor of NSW: Christopher Sullivan, Deputy Official Secretary to the Governor of NSW
00:00:54 Introduction to the presenter, Dr John Vallance: The Hon. Andrew Bell SC, Lieutenant Governor of NSW and Chief Justice, Supreme Court of NSW
00:08:17 Presentation: Dr John Vallance FRSN FAHA
00:48:28 Audience Q&A: moderated by Professor Duncan Ivison FRSN FAHA, University of Sydney
01:01:48 Vote of Thanks: Dr Susan Pond AM FRSN FTSE FAHMS, President, Royal Society of NSW
Summary: Early in the sixteenth century, Raphael imagined the pantheon of ancient philosophers in a famous picture called “The School of Athens”. Aristotle appears there as a relatively young man amongst the bearded savants, and this lecture aims to show that his vigorous intellectual presence is still very much felt today, especially in the biological sciences, jurisprudence, ethics, political theory, and literary criticism.
Aristotle’s thought is notoriously complex and difficult to grasp - even in general terms. Dr Vallance will attempt an exposition of the structure and purpose behind Aristotelian philosophy accessible to the non-philosopher and will throw in some Aristotelian tips for living well and productively along the way.
****
Dr John Vallance is the NSW State Librarian. The first part of his career was spent as a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College Cambridge, where he taught Greek, Latin and ancient philosophy. Then he served as Headmaster of Sydney Grammar School between 1999 and 2017. He has published widely in the field of ancient philosophy and medicine - including a large number of articles intended for the non-specialist reader, in the Oxford Classical Dictionary.
