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IMPORTANT: Phorum and Contact Problem - FIXED - Due to a server problem, I may not have been receiving messages (perhaps as far back as Sept 09). So, if you tried to contact me during that period, please try again.
The problem also affected the forum. So, if you had difficulty registering, the problem is now resolved - please try again!
Sorry for any inconvenience caused (though it wasn't really my fault, grumble grumble...).
Gareth Southwell.
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The PhilosophyOnline Monthly Blog
December 2009: On Believing in a World without Lies - 
Truth, Lies and Realism in the World of Film
The main challenge in imagining an alternative reality is in making it self-consistent and believable. This is not only true of sci-fi and fantasy, but also more mundane imaginings, such as Ricky Gervais’ tale of mendacious opportunism, The Invention of Lying. Of course, there is a sense in which finding fault with fictional tales is always a bit nitpicking; the desperate act of a pedant. And yet, on the other hand, there will always be films where ‘suspending our disbelief’ actually involves lynching it from the nearest lamppost.
Curiously, though, it can be difficult to predict exactly which things will set off an audience’s believability radar. Often, once you’ve bought the initial premise of a story, it’s a case of looking out for things which jar with it. So, he’s a professor of archaeology who seems to spend most of his time in swashbuckling pursuit of obscure and mythical artefacts? Okay… He can survive a nuclear blast by being propelled for miles in a lead-lined fridge?! Aw, come on! [1]
However, sometimes things stick out as implausible or ‘not right’ for more subtle and surprising reasons. Coming back to The Invention of Lying, the filmmaker's challenge is to create a possible world which is similar enough to ours to be credible, and dissimilar enough (in certain ways) to be funny. Comedy has more room to play fast and loose with the rules of reality than other genres, but there is still a strange and slippery sense in which it must be true to itself. For instance, critics, whilst praising the film’s comic verve, seem to have rounded on its sloppy and less satisfying romantic finale. It is this which sticks out because,... Comment | Read More
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A Twit's History of Philosophy (#ATHoP)
I've undertaken to write a complete history of philosophy on Twitter (you can follow me here: www.twitter.com/PhilosophyOnlyn). So, I will "tweet" everyday, beginning with the beginnings of Western philosophy in ancient Greece, and working up to the present day. You can see the latest tweets below. Occasionally, Twitter goes funny, and misses out a tweet or two. However, rest assured that not a tweet is lost - they are all here: The ATHoP Archive. The archive will be updated once a week.
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