@tweedpipe

Author: trying to work out what we're doing here. Latest books: The Edges of the World, Cry of the Wild, Being a Human, The Screaming Sky & Being a Beast

 Oxford & some mountains
charlesfoster.co.uk
Joined April 2009
  • Tweets11.9K
  • Following5K
  • Followers3.5K
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Charles Foster retweeted
Istra of Glome
@byistraOct 19
G.K. Chesterton on mysticism
Mysticism keeps men sane. As long as you have mystery you have health; when you destroy mystery you create morbidity. The ordinary man has always been sane because the ordinary man has always been a mystic. He has permitted the twilight. He has always had one foot in earth and the other in fairyland. He has always left himself free to doubt his gods; but (unlike the agnostic of to-day) free also to believe in them. He has always cared more for truth than for consistency. If he saw two truths that seemed to contradict each other, he would take the two truths and contradiction along with them. His spiritual sight is stereoscopic, like his physical sight: he sees two different pictures at once and yet sees all the better for that. Thus, he has always believed that there was such a thing as fate, but such a thing as free will also.

ALT Mysticism keeps men sane. As long as you have mystery you have health; when you destroy mystery you create morbidity. The ordinary man has always been sane because the ordinary man has always been a mystic. He has permitted the twilight. He has always had one foot in earth and the other in fairyland. He has always left himself free to doubt his gods; but (unlike the agnostic of to-day) free also to believe in them. He has always cared more for truth than for consistency. If he saw two truths that seemed to contradict each other, he would take the two truths and contradiction along with them. His spiritual sight is stereoscopic, like his physical sight: he sees two different pictures at once and yet sees all the better for that. Thus, he has always believed that there was such a thing as fate, but such a thing as free will also.

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Charles Foster retweeted
Stephen Moss@StephenMoss_TVOct 15
The complete set of bird biographies - including the newest on the Puffin - on display in Foyles today! @ChattoBooks
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Looking forward very much to this conversation with @dr_mcgilchrist and @evepoole: Do join us if you can: stjohnsdurham.ac.uk/event/gr… @ExeterCollegeOx

Who in the World are We? - St Johns

stjohnsdurham.ac.uk
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Charles Foster retweeted
IrishEVs@IrishEVs10 Jan 2023
Terrifying map shared by James Orr in the @Irishwildlife webinar on the Rights of Nature Ireland has the lowest ecological integrity in Europe - we have utterly suppressed nature in Ireland & the idea of the Emerald Isle is really a myth #ClimateCrisis #Biodiversity
A map showing the ecological integrity of Europe. Countries such as those in Nordic areas are shown in green with high ecological integrity. Those countries with areas of red have very low environmental integrity. Ireland is almost entirely red and stands out on the map against all other EU nations

ALT A map showing the ecological integrity of Europe. Countries such as those in Nordic areas are shown in green with high ecological integrity. Those countries with areas of red have very low environmental integrity. Ireland is almost entirely red and stands out on the map against all other EU nations

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Charles Foster retweeted
Astro Horizon
@Astro_horizon00Oct 8
🚨 NASA has successfully captured the sound of deep space — and it’s absolutely mind-blowing 🤯
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
This is not recorded sound from space. It's a data "sonification" of the Abell 370 galaxy cluster, where NASA translates brightness, color, and position of objects into audio tones for accessibility. Sound cannot travel through the vacuum of space. science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble… chandra.si.edu/sound/
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Charles Foster retweeted
Sarah Evans@SarahjevsEvansOct 8
Pembrokeshire Coast
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Charles Foster retweeted
•R•S•@Ay_BlinkinOct 3
Paintings of Saint Francis by Francisco de Zurbarán (Spanish, 1598-1664)
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Very much looking forward to talking with Rob Cowen about his dazzling book 'The North Road': do join us: dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/events…
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Charles Foster retweeted
Cosmic Earth
@_cosmicearthSep 28
Absolutely MIND-BLOWING! A zoom out of the sharpest view of the Andromeda Galaxy ever, showing more than 100 million stars....
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Save Castle News, Classy Barbers and American Nails! - Sign the Petition! c.org/B8kbR5sDHn via @UKChange

Sign the Petition

Save Castle News, Classy Barbers and American Nails!

change.org
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Thomas Carlyle 🎯 from his essay, "On Sir Walter Scott"
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"Everything is possible for him who possesses courage and activity... and to the timid and hesitating everything is impossible, because it seems so." - Sir Walter Scott
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My review of 'Osprey' by John Lister-Kaye | Book review | The TLS the-tls.com/regular-features… @TheTLS @ExeterCollegeOx

Crashing raptors

Transformative encounters with Scottish ospreys

the-tls.com
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My review of 'The Dog's Gaze' by Thomas W. Laqueur | Book Review | The TLS the-tls.com/arts/art-history… @TheTLS @ExeterCollegeOx

A tame wolf on the sofa

Dogs in western art and imagery

the-tls.com
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Pig Feast: screening: 6pm 28 September 2026 Lecture Theatre, St Cross College, 61 St Giles', Oxford OX1 3LZ Panel discussion: Prof Eben Kirksey (St Cross College), Prof. Charles Foster (Exeter College), plus guest speakers from West Papua. Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=A-pPemC8…
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West Papua Film Screening: Pig Feast 6pm Monday, 28 September 2026 Lecture Theatre, St Cross College, 61 St Giles', Oxford OX1 3LZ Free and open to the public Indigenous communities in West Papua are speaking out to protect the tropical forest. Over 2.5 million hectares of forest are being clearcut for industrial biofuel plantations. Oil palm and sugar cane ventures are encroaching on ancestral lands and old-growth rainforest. Combining vivid on-the-ground footage with investigative research, the film traces how grassroots social movements are confronting politicians, investors, military actors, and churches. Film run-time: 99 minutes, panel discussion plus Q&A 1 hour. Panel discussion: Prof Eben Kirksey (St Cross College), Prof. Charles Foster (Exeter College), plus guest speakers from West Papua. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-pPemC8m_M

ALT West Papua Film Screening: Pig Feast 6pm Monday, 28 September 2026 Lecture Theatre, St Cross College, 61 St Giles', Oxford OX1 3LZ Free and open to the public Indigenous communities in West Papua are speaking out to protect the tropical forest. Over 2.5 million hectares of forest are being clearcut for industrial biofuel plantations. Oil palm and sugar cane ventures are encroaching on ancestral lands and old-growth rainforest. Combining vivid on-the-ground footage with investigative research, the film traces how grassroots social movements are confronting politicians, investors, military actors, and churches. Film run-time: 99 minutes, panel discussion plus Q&A 1 hour. Panel discussion: Prof Eben Kirksey (St Cross College), Prof. Charles Foster (Exeter College), plus guest speakers from West Papua. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-pPemC8m_M

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Doing a couple of events at this fantastic new festival this coming weekend. Do join me if you can. sta-website.com/consider @ExeterCollegeOx @doubledaybooks @alex_christofi @TransworldBooks @PenguinUKBooks

Consider the Wondrous | sta-website

sta-website.com
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Charles Foster retweeted
Paul Anleitner
@PaulAnleitnerSep 7
Malcolm Guite explains, in just 90 seconds, how the deconstruction of our guiding stories leads to the collapse of civilization. @malcolmguite
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Charles Foster retweeted
Anthem Press@AnthemPressJun 11
Review alert! ✍️ ‘Ethics, law, and the Business of Being Human’ by Charles Foster has been reviewed in the ‘Medical Law Review’ journal by #DanielTClark. See here ➡️ tinyurl.com/ym424pz5 @tweedpipe @ExeterCollegeOx @ethicsinthenews @Ethox_Centre @45GraysInnSq @OUPAcademic
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Charles Foster retweeted
Prof Bob Davis@RokewoodJun 26
A lot of ground surveyed in this lively & voluble @BBCFreeThinking. Great to see Warner get reappraised. Chunky generalisations on subversive Englishness were less persuasive. @DrMatthewSweet talks to @tweedpipe @SAModernism @sophiescott @platospodcasts bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002xpc…

BBC Radio 4 - Free Thinking, Eccentrics & Outsiders

Matthew Sweet takes a sideways look at Englishness.

bbc.co.uk
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