What Would Happen If?
Writer and priest Malcolm Doney argues that imagination is central to human existence, development and preservation.
Writer and priest Malcolm Doney argues that imagination is central to almost every decision we make. For Malcolm, conscious, imaginative thinking is essentially the basis of what it means to be human.
Malcolm draws upon the story of Jesus who himself left no written manifesto. In his physical absence, Jesus' followers were left with the imaginative project of living lives modelled on his. They had to re-imagine a new life without him.
Malcolm explores the work of Nobel Prize winner Peter Medawar, historian Yuval Noah Harari, as well as poets John Koethe and Emily Dickinson. Using this diverse array of sources, Malcolm reveals that imagination is vital to the progress of science and lies at the beating heart of music. He concludes that ultimately, imagination is fundamental to empathy and at the core of that most life-giving command "love thy neighbour as thyself".
Presenter: Malcolm Doney
Producer: Jonathan O'Sullivan
A TBI Media production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.
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Music Played
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Emile Pandolfi
Pure Imagination
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Michael Levy
Hurrian Hymn
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Joseph Haydn
The Creation, Part 1 No. 1 Die Vorstellung des Chaos (The Representation of Chaos)
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Joseph Haydn
The Creation, Hob.XXI/2, Part I: 7. And God said, Let the earth
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Mavis Staples
You Are Not Alone
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Jackson Browne
About My Imagination
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Brooklyn Duo
Pure Imagination
Readings
Title: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Memories of a City
Author: 听听听听听听听听听听 Orhan Pamuk
Publisher:听 听听听听听 Faber and Faber
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Title: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Author: 听听听听听听听听听听 Yuval Noah Harari
Publisher:听听 听听听听 Harvill Secker
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Title: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The Limits of Science
Author: 听听听听听听听听听听 Peter Medawar
Publisher: 听听听听听听 Oxford University Press
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Title: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Creation Myths
Author: 听听听听听听听听听听 John Koethe
Publisher: 听听听听听听 Harper Perennial
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Title: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The World is Not Conclusion
Author: 听听听听听听听听听听 Emily Dickinson
Publisher: 听听听听听听 Harvard University Press
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Title: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Grammars of Creation
Author: 听听听听听听听听听听 George Steiner
Publisher: 听听听听听听 Faber and Faber
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Title: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Poetry and Religion
Author: 听听听听听听听听听听 Les Murray
Publisher: 听听听听听听 Carcanet Press
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Title: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 A Splash of Words
Author: 听听听听听听听听听听 Mark Oakley
Publisher: 听听听听听听 Canterbury Press
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Title: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Mystery and Manners
Author: 听听听听听听听听听听 Flannery O'Connor
Publisher: 听听听听听听 Farrar, Strauss and Giroux
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Title: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 An Experiment in Criticism
Author: 听听听听听听听听听听 CS Lewis
Publisher: 听听听听听听 Cambridge University Press
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Title: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Design by Nature
Author: 听听听听听听听听听听 Maggie Macnab
Publisher: 听听听听听听 New Riders
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Title: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The Gleam of an Heroic Act
Author: 听听听听听听听听听听 Emily Dickinson
Publisher: 听听听听听听 Harvard University Press
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Broadcasts
- Sun 2 Jul 2017 06:05大象传媒 Radio 4
- Sun 2 Jul 2017 23:30大象传媒 Radio 4
- Sun 11 Jul 2021 06:05大象传媒 Radio 4
- Sun 11 Jul 2021 23:30大象传媒 Radio 4