School of Sophia

The novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky once wrote that ‘beauty would save the world’. The philosopher and mystic Simone Weil wrote that ‘the beautiful is the manifest presence of the real’. For the poet John Keats, all that we need to know is that ‘Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty’. This academic season, School of Sophia will explore the wisdom that arises out of the experience of beauty, drawing from great poets and mystics from the world’s great traditions.

Our everyday experience often suggests that the world is filled with ugliness. For some, ‘beauty’ may even be an uncomfortable notion. But is beauty just sensual pleasure, a matter of aesthetic taste, or even a dangerous delusion? Or is there a sense in which something unique about the depth and spirit of reality manifests itself in the experience of the beautiful? Is beauty ‘in the eye of the beholder’ as popular parlance says, or does it rather bring about a transformed vision, a radical change in our mode of seeing and witnessing reality? Is Dostoyevsky right – can beauty save the world?

We will explore the wisdom of beauty through a range of inspiring readings - from Plato and Plotinus to Sufi and Christian mystics and poets such as ‘Attar, Ibn ‘Arabi and Meister Eckhart. We will also draw on the visionary poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke and William Blake and listen to contemporary voices such as Iris Murdoch, Josef Pieper and Simone Weil.

Practical information:

• Start Tuesday 29 September, 18:30

• Three terms in total: September - December 2026, February - April 2027, May - July 2027

• Live Q&A Thursday 27 August, 16:00

• Discounted Fees and Scholarships available