The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from New Acropolis is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.
New Acropolis
41NEW ACROPOLIS |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019
Chair Sabine Leitner
World Philosophy Day 2017
New Acropolis are an educational charity with the
aim of promoting the renewal of philosophy in the
“classical tradition” and a rediscovery of the timeless
values that have guided humanity throughout history. They
work in the fields of philosophy, culture and volunteering
to provide – what they call – an “education for head, heart
and hands”. Chairing this organisation is Sabine Leitner,
who tells
TheParliamentaryReview
more about the value of
NewAcropolis.
Why philosophy?
Many of the problems facing humanity today – social, environmental, moral and
spiritual – will not be solved long term with more technology or money alone.
They are problems created by ourselves and a way of life that is the product of our
thinking, that is, our “philosophy”. In order to create a future that resolves these
problems, the solutions must include or, indeed, be rooted in an inner development
of our thinking and collective values – that is, a change in our philosophy. How can
this be achieved? This question has inspired us and guided our activities for more
than 20 years.
What is philosophy in the classical tradition?
At New Acropolis, we understand philosophy in its classical sense as
philo-sophia
,
meaning “love of wisdom”: the discovery of wisdom through a practical and active
FACTS ABOUT
NEW ACROPOLIS
»Chair: Sabine Leitner
»Founded in 1996
»Located in Highbury and
Islington
»No. of trustees: 9
»No. of students: 50, from all
walks of life, aged between 18
and 70
»600 participants in our
courses, talks and events every
year
New Acropolis
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
42 | NEW ACROPOLIS
attitude to life rather than something
purely intellectual or contemplative.
Wisdom is knowing how to act,
knowing what is ‘good’ and knowing
which ends are worth striving for.
What do we do?
We work in three areas: philosophy,
culture and volunteering. Our
approach pursues two goals: the
development of the latent potential
within the human being through
education (from the Latin
educare
,
to train, and
educere,
to draw out,
to bring forth) and the renewal of
culture, the soil in which human
beingsdevelop.
Our philosophical activities are centred
around ongoing weekly evening
classes for adults (around 600 hours
of teaching a year). Our syllabus is
based on the comparative study of the
major systems of thought of Eastern
and Western traditions. The purpose
is to make the vast heritage of human
wisdom accessible to all and to draw
inspiration for our own actions from
the universal ideas that have stood the
test of time.
We organise about 20 public events
a year, such as talks, courses and
workshops, where we invite guest
speakers from a wide range of fields,
including philosophy, psychology,
medicine, economics, science
andecology.
We also stage public “happenings”
to promote broader philosophical
conversation. Last year we organised
an event in front of the National
Gallery on the theme of Philosophy
and Art to celebrate UNESCO’s
World Philosophy Day. We find
at these events that many people
really appreciate the opportunity
for philosophical conversation and
the chance to explore their values
and ideas. We always encounter
surprising insights and heartfelt human
exchanges. Since 2013, we have
been publishing a digital bimonthly
magazine on a range of relevant topics
covering philosophy and culture.
Why culture?
We understand culture as the ‘soil’
in which individuals can find all the
nutrients they need to flourish. Culture
is education in the widest sense of
the word because it transmits values
and provides us with forms through
which we can express these values.
We transmit to our students the value
of culture and encourage them to
think what kind of culture we need to
create in order to bring out the best in
the human being. To support this, we
organise visits to museums and trips to
sites of cultural and historical interest
in Britain and abroad. We revive
traditions and celebrations to enable us
to reconnect with nature and human
history in a profound way.
Why volunteering?
Our programme of studies is
designed to provide an education
that develops not only our mind
but also other human faculties such
as love, compassion, imagination,
Public talk at the New
Acropolis centre, Islington
– “Immanuel Kant:
Certainty in an Uncertain
World”
Wisdom is
knowing how
to act,
knowing what
is ‘good’ and
knowing
which ends
are worth
striving for
“
“
43NEW ACROPOLIS |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019
perseverance, willpower and
creativity. Volunteering helps to
develop these key faculties and forms
part of our philosophical training,
and we encourage our students
to become active and involved in
communityprojects.
Our own volunteering projects
include helping with the planting and
maintenance of the public garden
in front of our school. For the last
nine years we have been helping
to organise a garden volunteering
day every month, which also brings
together neighbours and other
Londoners. This has created a much
stronger community within our
neighbourhood and a good co-
operation with Islington Council.
We also transformed a derelict space at
the back of our premises into a garden
and created a bee sanctuary, as bee
populations are under serious threat
in the UK and elsewhere. Currently
we have two beehives, which are
managed in a bee-centred way, with
the idea of providing a home for bees
rather than obtaining honey. Every
year we open our bee sanctuary to the
public under the auspices of “Open
Garden Squares Weekend”, attracting
hundreds of visitors who are attended
to by our volunteers and receive talks
about thebees.
For several years, we supported a
local homeless project run by the
Union Chapel Margins charity, and
this year we have started to put our
gardening skills to use with another
local charity which works with isolated
elderly people in Islington. Our school
of philosophy itself offers many
volunteering opportunities as it is run
entirely by volunteers.
Philosophy is the foundation
of the future
How can we measure the success of
our work? We think the success of our
work is visible in the changes within
the people who attend our classes. We
further believe that our kind of holistic
and practical philosophical education
awakens a clearer sense of purpose
and a greater sense of responsibility,
initiative, respect, courtesy, generosity
and tolerance of differences. It can
produce a profound transformation
within the individual, which in turn can
lead to new ideas and transformation
in society.
All our activities were achieved with
an annual budget of around £30,000
and no salaried roles. Our work
demonstrates that a shared vision, an
attitude of co-operation and good
will can achieve as much as, or more
than, material resources. Our belief
is that we need to cultivate human
potential and non-material resources
in our society so that we can resolve
the problems we are currently facing
and prepare a better society for the
nextgeneration.
“ Without commonly shared and
widely entrenched moral values
and obligations, neither the law,
nor democratic government,
nor even the market economy
will function properly.”
– Václav Havel
We
understand
culture as the
‘soil’ in which
individuals can
find all the
nutrients they
need to
flourish
“
“
Volunteering day at
Compton Terrace
Gardens, Islington