The Good, The Beautiful and The True – Dr Iain McGilchrist: two day in- person event at The Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford – Saturday 2nd May and Sunday 3rd May 2026
An in-person hybrid event on
Saturday 2nd May and Sunday 3rd May 2026
with guest speakers Dr Martin Shaw, Professor Angie Hobbs, Dr Jude Currivan, and David Lorimer
Sheldonian Theatre
Broad Street
Oxford, OX1 3AZ
Discount codes are available for members / patrons. See below. You will need to obtain your discount code before purchasing a ticket.
This event is organised and hosted by Channel McGilchrist & The Scientific and Medical Network
Event description
In this two-day event at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, Dr Iain McGilchrist will explore The Good, The Beautiful and The True.
With an increasingly exclusive reliance on the left hemispheric way of being in the world, to the exclusion of the more intelligent and insightful way of being of the right hemisphere, our modern age fails to understand the concepts of the good, the beautiful and the true, and takes them to be ancient ideals that are now irrelevant – or even meaningless.
Across two days of lectures and reflection, a panel discussion, and audience Q&As, Dr McGilchrist will argue that we dismiss the good, the beautiful and the true at our peril: their intrinsic nature is woven into the very fabric of the cosmos itself.
He has invited guest speakers, writer, mythographer and Christian thinker, Dr Martin Shaw, philosopher and specialist in the ancient Greek world and author of Why Plato Matters Now Professor Angie Hobbs, cosmologist, healer, futurist and author Dr Jude Currivan, and director of the Scientific and Medical Network David Lorimer, to share their views.
Lectures
Dr Iain McGilchrist – Lecture 1 ‘The Value of Value’
Lecture 2 ‘So How Do We Remake the World (Because We Can)?’
Dr Martin Shaw – ‘Mythic Reality And The Arising Of Value’
Professor Angie Hobbs – ‘Platonic Proportions: Beauty, Harmony and a Good Life’
Beauty is of central importance throughout Plato’s works. In this talk, Angie Hobbs discusses the role of harmony in Plato and considers how, when internalized in the psyche, it equates to virtue, mental health and flourishing. She argues that Plato’s thinking on proportion and harmony has its roots in the Pythagorean application of mathematics to musical theory and the cosmos as a whole, and shows how Plato develops their work and extends it to the human psyche and society, emphasising the vital importance of aesthetic education and early immersion in physical beauty.
Dr Jude Currivan – ‘How the Unitive Science of a Living Universe Embodies Beauty, Truth and Goodness’
Scientific discoveries at all scales and across numerous fields of research are turning the old paradigm of a mechanistic Universe, on its head. Instead, the evidence is revealing that our essentially living Universe meaningfully exists and purposefully evolves, from simplicity to diversity, complexity and individuated self-awareness.
This emergent new understanding converging with universal wisdom teachings, invites us to re-member that Beauty, Truth and Goodness are embodied in its foundational nature.
David Lorimer – ‘Embodying and Enacting Love, Wisdom and Truth’
In the teaching of the Bulgarian sage Peter Deunov (Beinsa Douno, 1864-1944), Love, Wisdom and Truth are characterised as fundamental principles, with two further ones making the pentagram of five: Justice and Goodness (Virtue). Deunov stressed that these universal principles are not divisive belief systems, but have to be understood and applied. He further explained that Love brings Life, Wisdom brings Light, and Truth brings Freedom. They correspond respectively to the cultivation of the heart, the mind, and the will. He embodied these principles in his sacred dance movements Paneurhythmy, which he choreographed, and for which he composed the music. The musicians stand in the middle of a circle of dancers, and the exercise as a whole represents the harmonious collaboration of humanity, connecting us to the Earth, the Heavens, and to each other. The principles also give us a compass direction for the co-creation of a future culture of Love, Wisdom, Truth, Justice, and Goodness. This is our collective task.
Full schedule is available at the end of this page
Ticket prices
Discounted pricing applies for members and donors / patrons of Channel McGilchrist and the Scientific and Medical Network. See here.
Please note: seats are not numbered, just defined by area.
In-person tickets:
Standard (non-members) – £195 premium seat / £185 upper level/s
Members – £185 premium seat / £170 upper level/s
Patrons and Donors – FREE
Full time students* – £75 upper levels only
* Students will be required to email proof of their full time student status within 48 hours of booking.
Livestream tickets with recording:
Standard (non-members) – £55
Members – £50
Patrons and Donors – FREE
Full time students – £45
Member discount
All patrons and members of Channel McGilchrist and the Scientific and Medical Network are eligible for a discounted entrance fee. If you are a patron or member, please make sure you log in to the Members’ Area here before booking a ticket in order to get your personalised discount code.
When purchasing your ticket on Ticket Tailor, you will be able to enter the discount code after selecting your ticket.
Important: Only one coupon code can be applied per order, so multiple tickets must be purchased individually.
Patrons and donors, we have reserved premium seating on the lower level for you, so please select “Standard Premium” when choosing your ticket, to make sure your coupon code is applied correctly. You can also use the same discount code to get a free Members livestream ticket.
If you would like to find out about becoming a member / patron click here for Channel McGilchrist and here for the Scientific and Medical Network.
All in-person tickets will receive a recording of the event a few weeks after it has taken place.
Refund policy: In the event of cancellation no refunds can be given after 11th April 2026.
Schedule for Sheldonian (please note some timings may change slightly)
Saturday 2nd May 2026
9.15am – Doors open for public
9.45am – Final registration
10.00am – 10.15am Welcome from David Lorimer
10.15am – Dr Iain McGilchrist lecture 1 – ‘The Value of Value’
11.00am – Audience Q&A
11.15am – 11.20am – pause for writing / reflection for audience (remain seated)
11.25am – Professor Angie Hobbs lecture – ‘Platonic Proportions: Beauty, Harmony and a Good Life’
12.10pm – Audience Q&A
12.25pm – Lunch break / pause for writing / reflection
2.25pm – return to venue by this time
2.30pm – David Lorimer lecture – ‘Embodying and Enacting Love, Wisdom and Truth’
3.15pm – Pause for writing / reflection
3.20pm – Dr Martin Shaw lecture – ‘Mythic Reality And The Arising Of Value’
4.05pm – 4.20pm – Audience Q&A
4.25pm – Book signing
5.30pm – Vacate
Sunday 3rd May 2026
9.15am – Doors open
9.45am – Final entry
10am – 10.15am David Lorimer – reflections from previous day run through outline for day
10.20am – Dr Jude Currivan – ‘How the Unitive Science of a Living Universe Embodies Beauty, Truth and Goodness’
11.05am – Audience Q&A
11.20am – 11.25 am – Pause for writing / reflection for audience (remain seated)
11.25am – Dr Iain McGilchrist lecture 2 – ‘So How Do We Remake the World (Because We Can)?
12.10pm – Audience Q&A
12.25pm – Lunch break / pause for writing / reflection
2.25pm – Return to venue by this time
2.30.pm – Panel discussion and audience Q&A
4.30pm – Book signing
5.30pm – Vacate