Thinking - Summary

 

 

This section provides a brief outline of the topics covered by our think tank and the range of outputs it produces. We aim to develop thinking, insights and ideas that lead to a better life for everyone and a more sustainable, just and intellectually coherent world. This work ranges across various subject areas but some key topics of interest are summarised below:

 

1. The Search for a Better Future
The 'Movement for Global Change' is the loose title we give to the range of organisations and individuals that are seeking a similar vision of a better future to ours - one that is sustainable, just and intellectually coherent (see 'Our Values'). This includes causes such as the environment, poverty, human rights, animal rights and political reform.

Our work supporting this movement can be split into various components, including:

bullet Examining our current position - considering the positive and negative aspects of life in the modern world.
 
bullet Creating a vision of a better future - considering the vision of the future we should be seeking, the challenges of setting such a vision, the changes required to reach it and the credibility of the vision that the 'movement' is currently seeking.
  
bullet Considering how to pursue this vision in the most effective way - for example, how to most effectively gain change in the attitudes and behaviour of individuals, groups and societies.
  

 

2. The Search for a Better Life
Within this topic area we consider the subjective experience of life, explore the conditions needed for an enjoyable and fulfilling life and promote these conditions. This potentially covers a wide range of individual subjects, including:

bullet The Subjective Experience- exploring the profound experience of existing as a human being, how to articulate this experience (e.g. literature, ideas of spirituality, rationalist responses etc.), defining its parameters and how to get the most of it.
  
bullet The Good Life - exploring what a 'good life' consists of, the conditions and skills people require for such a life, the barriers to such a life in the modern world and how these barriers can be overcome.  
bullet How to Think Clearly - includes general guidance on how to think more clearly and how to navigate through complex topics or situations in life, using tools such as 'mental perspective' and 'mental maps'. May also feature specific guidance on particular issues, for example moral questions.
  

 

3. The Search for Clarity of Thought
We believe that perspective, clarity of thought and intellectual independence are among the 'mental tools' that human beings need if we are to live better and happier lives in the modern world. These mental tools are important for us all - from the ordinary individual trying to live well in the modern world through to the political leader attempting to make wise decisions. These skills are needed in the world now more than ever.

In the think tank, we aim to develop greater clarity of thought ourselves, through research and the development of accessible intellectual foundations and models for thinking. We also aim to use this thinking in all our work as an organisation, enabling us to produce clear thinking, unusual insights and creative solutions on any issue. Finally, we promote the development of these skills in the world and pass our own learning on to others through papers, thinking tools and initiatives.

See the 'Workshop' page to see some of our background thinking, 'Papers' and 'Reports' to see some of our insights and 'Initiatives' to view some of the schemes we have designed.

4. Other Issues
In this area of work we explore a variety of areas of interest and concern to us. These may include moral and political debates, key social and global issues, or any number of other things.

Particular areas of interest for us at present include Sustainability, Social and Global Justice, Belief and Religion, Oppression and the need for Intellectual Coherence and Freedom. Click <here> for further examples of think tank topic areas.

Outputs
Through our various outputs we seek to make our thinking available and accessible to everyone - from interested individuals to practitioners in charities through to policy makers. The output of the think tank includes:

bullet Papers - a range of papers, articles and commentary - most of which are free of charge. See 'Papers' page;  
bullet Reports - major reports on key issues - distributed to key decision makers (e.g. government, charities) in order to influence their policy and decision making. See 'Reports' page;  
bullet Consultancy - our thinking feeds into our consultancy services;  
bullet Conferences, Talks, Courses and Events - for example, 'Perspective Weekends' - a residential course in a rural location to help people stand back from the fuss and involvement of their normal lives and gain some perspective on life;  
bullet Publishing - we will publish output such as journals and books to spread our ideas, educate society at large and encourage more dialogue on the issues we are exploring. Books may also provide an opportunity to explore particularly important or thorny issues in greater depth;
bullet Broadcasting and Journalism - we aim to contribute to contemporary debates, in both popular and specialist media, for similar reasons to those noted in the 'Publishing' section above.
bullet Initiatives for Social and Global Change - our thinking can sometimes enable us to identify a need for a new scheme or initiative. We develop proposals for such schemes, and when appropriate, incubate the initial development of the scheme within CS. See 'Initiatives' page.

 

Click here for further examples of think tank outputs.

Commissions
Should you wish to discuss the possibility of commissioning some work, to arrange presentations or broadcasting or to order papers (copies of most papers are available upon request) do get in touch with us using the details in the 'Contact' page.