Image: Dr James Alison and Professor Rene Girard

Panellists:

Dr. James Alison, Catholic Priest, Theologian

Dr Chris Fleming, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Western Sydney University (Moderator)

Dr Elizabeth Farrelly, Architecture Critic, essayist, columnist and speaker

Peter Hidden, AM, KC, Retired Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales

Dr Samir Mahmoud, Islamic Scholar, Cambridge Muslim College UK

The forum theme: There is a general feeling that modernity is in crisis and that we move from one crisis to the next. It seems that we are constantly treating the symptoms – such as inflation, political polarisation, climate change, war, autocracy, social cohesion, mental health, social isolation, family breakdown and religious disaffiliation – but not getting to the core of our problems. It also seems, that as a result, that social cohesion is fraying and violence is becoming more public and extreme. This series seeks to address the roots of modern crisis (which is manifest in the crises described above). In dialogue with Girard’s analysis and fundamental concepts, it will identify the drivers of modernity’s crisis and propose ways to address it.