Orwell on Truth, Tyranny and Human Nature

35 Grafton Common,Grafton MA 01519

23 October, 2021

Description

Dr. Daniel Mahoney, Assumption University Political Science professor, will discuss George Orwell and authoritarianism. Saturday, October 23, 3:00 pm ***MASKS REQUIRED*** Dr. Mahoney’s discussion will focus mainly on the novel “1984” to help deepen people’s understanding of what the author was trying to communicate about the true nature of human beings and the ongoing threats to the integrity of the human soul. He wants the audience to discover what Orwell meant in a broader approach directed at the meaning of truth and the essence of human nature. The lecture will bring a sustained focus to Orwell’s pivotal work so attendees may arrive at their own conclusion about the current political climate and use Orwell’s work as a guide to their own reflection. Dr. Mahoney said, “The most terrible kind of politics believes human nature can be manipulated or simply transformed, that there is no enduring human soul, so human beings may be reengineered at will. In this understanding there is no objective distinction between truth and falsehood, right and wrong. In this understanding of things, there’s a tendency to reinvent the past or almost erase it.” He wants us also to reflect, following Orwell, on how dangerous it is when we attempt to change the meaning of language and the structure of reality. “Orwell remains our teacher in no small part because his thought is finally unclassifiable. He was a democratic socialist who despised Communism as murderous and mendacious, an anti-colonialist and an unapologetic British patriot, an agnostic or atheist who defended a traditional or commonsensical view of right and wrong,” Dr. Mahoney explained. The Small Stones Festival of the Arts, sponsored by Grafton Arts, Inc. and held each autumn, is a collaboration of Apple Tree Arts, the Worcester County Camera Club, the Blackstone Valley Arts Association, the Shakespeare Club of Grafton, and Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra. The festival includes a juried exhibition of photography and painting, a musical program, and literary events.