What can Time Travel teach us about Freewill?  

Philosophy and Physics Enrichment lecture  

On Tuesday, we had the privilege of having an ‘out of this world’ talk by the renowned author, Colin Stuart. He spoke about the relation between Time Travel and Free Will; if we can travel to the past or to the future, do we truly have Free Will? His fascinating talk revolved around the idea of ‘SpaceTime’, an alternative to gravity where the entire solar system is analogous to a fabric. In our universe, the sun creates a ‘dip’ in the fabric which allows planets to revolve around it. This led him to describe the wormhole model, where time travel both forward and backwards could be possible, thus ultimately leading to the conclusion that Free Will does not exist. However, another theory was explored, which stated that time is only a meaningful illusion, so we can still have Free Will.  

So, the decision is yours; does time exist, and consequently we lose Free Will or is time an illusion, hence still allowing Free Will? 

Sanya Sehgal 13R  

 Tuesday’s talk by Colin Stuart on the affects of time travel on free-will, was interesting to say the least. Rather than just looking at the philosophical viewpoint of our actions being set in stone due to time-travel, the talk also went into the physics viewpoint of time and how that could change the  possibility of our actions being pre-determined. The talk also went in depth into the affects of time-travel if it were possible and the ways that it could be achieved, a truly intriguing and thought-provoking talk. 

Kristian Bergene-Gray 12L  

Also in Co-curricular

Music house-music-2
OCT 21, 2022

House Music

We were lucky enough to experience some of the most accomplished musical performances I have seen in any school setting, showcasing a huge variety and depth of talent and reflecting an extraordinary level of commitment from all involved.” – Mr Andy Williams, Head of School

READ MORE House Music
Co-curricular paintballing-featured-image-template-15
MAY 10, 2024

Paintballing

Year 12 Riding’s girls enjoyed a post-exams tutor group trip to Delta Force Paintball. None of the students had been paintballing before and they all showed great courage and teamwork in the arena. Even though the Blues were valiant in battle, the Reds probably had the upper hand in most of the games

READ MORE Paintballing
Academic 01featured-image-les-philosophes-art
JAN 19, 2016

Les Philosophes Society host Art Critic Andrew Graham-Dixon

Art critic and television presenter Andrew Graham-Dixon gave a fascinating talk on Caravaggio to the Les Philosophes Society on Wednesday 13 January. Against a backdrop of Caravaggio’s paintings, Graham-Dixon talked about the violence in the artist’s life as well as the ground-breaking nature of his art. He argued that Caravaggio was criticising the Catholic Church […]

READ MORE Les Philosophes Society host Art Critic Andrew Graham-Dixon