Tim’s talk is based on his recent PhD thesis. He argues that Alexander’s theoretical achievement is every bit as great and important as his practical one, but that it is not properly appreciated. Even when it is foregrounded, it typically appears as at best a shopping list of principles, sometimes arranged in order of importance, but rarely, if ever, in a way that demonstrates the theory’s systematic, integrated hierarchical structure, within which every principle and procedure can be viewed as internally related to every other. He thinks that we need to do with the theory what we attempt to do with our students in practice, namely to understand it as an indivisible integrated unity. This is what he means by ‘the conceptual anatomy of the Technique’.

He has just completed a PhD in the philosophy of action, exploring both how contemporary philosophical knowledge can help us articulate the Technique in a thoroughly up to date way without sacrificing any of its original unity, and, reciprocally, how knowledge of the Technique can shed important light on contemporary debates in the philosophy of mind and action. He draws on this in his presentation, but the latter will not be technical and obscure. It will aim at plainly showing just how important a proper grasp of theory is to best practice. The talk itself will be 35-40 mins, and the remainder of the session is an opportunity for questions and discussion. No hands on, but still a practical workshop!