In Praise of Disloyalty May 19, 2010

The Louis Sherwood Memorial Lecture

Wessex Water and the RSA are pleased to support the inaugural Louis Sherwood Memorial Lecture. Louis was an invaluable member of the Wessex Water Services Board, the RSA Council, At-Bristol, and a patron of BCDP and the Festival of Ideas, providing great support for all. Funds from the event will be donated to a charity nominated by the Sherwood family.

Darwin taught us how species evolve through billions of tiny adaptive changes over trillions of years; but how does social evolution occur? How do the institutions we create to carry value and order through time adapt and change? For example, what persuaded the male dominant institutions of democracy to admit women to the suffrage? A fundamental element was the importance of disloyalty. The disloyal mind refuses to conform to existing norms and allows new values and understandings to come in from the future. The loyal mind preserves the best of the past, while the disloyal mind is the midwife of the future. Richard Holloway, writer and former Bishop of Edinburgh, explores the role of disloyalty in the creative arts, and suggests that it is also an important virtue in religion.

Price: £10.00 / £8.00 . Contact At-Bristol on: 0845 345 1235 (local rate calls) or 0117 915 5000 (9.00-17.00 weekdays), or book in person (every day 10.00-17.00).

Official Website: http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/?p=413