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the great northern debate
the great north debate
The Great Debate People
Caspar Hewett Caspar Hewett
Mo Lovatt Mo Lovatt
Dave O'Toole Dave O'Toole
Jon Pugh Jon Pugh
Oliver Moss Oliver Moss
Jon Bryan Jon Bryan
RCE North East
RCE North East
The Space of Democracy and the Democracy of Space
Don't Shout at the Telly
Don't Shout at the Telly, Change What's on it!
10th Anniversary
Click here for details of events being held as part of The Great Debate 10th anniversary
Agents of Change?
Agents of Change? Darwinian Thought and Theories of Human Nature
Flush It!
Flush it! - Worldwrite and The Great Debate at Battle of Ideas
Progress day school
Progress of the Human Mind: From
Enlightenment to Postmodernism 
with Caspar Hewett & David Large
Christopher Badcock talk
Selfish Genes, Sex and Sanity with Christopher Badcock
Aaron Sloman talk
Information-processing in Robotics, Biology and Philosophy: 
Unnoticed Connections with Aaron Sloman
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ESRC Festival of Social Science
North East Centre for Lifelong Learning
University of Sunderland
Forthcoming

Humans in a Changing Climate
Five seminars from 4th February 2010

It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine): Why environmentalism has failed and what comes next
Paul Kingsnorth
22nd February 2010

Getting Real About Climate Change
One day workshop, Saturday, 20th March 2010


RCE North East
Welcome to The Great Debate website. The Great Debate is a group of people dedicated to providing courses, day schools, discussions and workshops for the general public on topics ranging from Darwinism and human nature, to free speech and environmental thought. We are committed to education, discovering knowledge and developing informed opinion through discussion and research. The Great Debate is a partner in the RCE North East regional network.

The Great Debate is organised by director and chair Caspar Hewett, co-director Mo Lovatt, treasurer Dave O'Toole and the team: Jon Pugh, Oliver Moss and Jon Bryan. By the end of our tenth anniversary (2008) we had organised nearly fifty events attracting a wide audience drawn from the general public of ages 15 to 80 years old. We also run a schools programme that includes public discussions, debating workshops in schools and thegreatnortherndebate RCE project.

The Great Debate website includes listings of events, articles, reviews and useful links to other sites. We hope that you will find our website to be a useful resource.


 news

The Great Debate has succesfully gained funding from Mediabox for a new venture, Living in a Changing World. This film-making project for young people not in employment, education or training kicks off at end of January 2010.

The Great Debate's ongoing contribution to ESRC Festival of Social Science continues in 2010 with Getting Real About Climate Change on 20th March.

The Great Debate is very pleased to announce that thegreatnortherndebate has been recognised by the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies as a Regional Centre of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development project. Thanks to everyone who has been involved in our Development, Sustainability and Environment series for helping to make this happen. More ...



New on The Great Debate website

Free Thinking
Oliver Moss and Caspar Hewett comment on BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival at the Sage Gateshead


Don't Shout at the Telly North East 2009
Don't Shout at the Telly North East
Following the North East premiere of the documentary Flush It, students reflect on water and sanitation provision across the globe. The featured discussion was filmed by young people taking part in The Great Debate and WORLDwrite workshop Don’t Shout at the Telly, Change What's on it!, March 2009. Learning camera and reporting skills ‘on the job’ they consider key issues in the process.


Rita Carter, Caspar Hewett, Thomas Pink and Kevin Yuill: 
The Great Human Nature Debate
The Great Human Nature Debate
Video of debate between Rita Carter, Caspar Hewett and Thomas Pink held as part of Agents of Change? Darwinian Thought and Theories of Human Nature, October 2008


Bruce Charlton, Pauline Hadaway and Igor Aleksander:
What can science tell us about human nature?
What can science tell us about human nature?
Video of debate between Bruce Charlton and Igor Aleksander held as part of The Great Debate: Agents of Change? Darwinian Thought and Theories of Human Nature. October 2008


Discussion following key note talk by Raymond Tallis on Darwinism without Darwinitis
Darwinism or Darwinitis?
Video of discussion following Darwinism without Darwinitis: key note talk by Raymond Tallis given at The Great Debate: Agents of Change? Darwinian Thought and Theories of Human Nature. October 2008


What is radical politics today? Will Hutton and 
Anthony Giddens in conversation with Jonathan Pugh
What is radical politics today?
Video of Will Hutton and Anthony Giddens in conversation with Jonathan Pugh and an audience on 5th December 2008. Click here.


Darwinism without Darwinitis - Text and slides from talk by Raymond Tallis Henri de Saint-Simon: The Great Synthesist - Essay by Caspar Hewett Auguste Comte – High Priest of Positivism - Essay by Caspar Hewett


The Great Debate: Development, Sustainability and Environment

Video of Keeping Africa Small Debate
Video of I'm a Subsistence Farmer ... Get Me Out Of Here! debate
Edited videos of two debates held in March 2008 as part of the day workshop on Developing World Challenges. Simply click on the images.

Or join our facebook group and view our events and videos there.


Selfish genes, sex, and sanity: Christopher Badcock outlines a new theory that resolves some long-standing contradictions in explaining mental illness


The Great Debate is a North East partner of the National Institute of Ideas Debating Matters Competition. Click Here for further details.

Debating Matters Competition Debating Matters Competition


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Previous contributors to The Great Debate have included Susan Blackmore, Christopher Badcock, Rita Carter, Frank Furedi, Anthony Giddens, David Glass, Will Hutton, Sir Bernard Ingham, Kenan Malik, Matt Ridley and Raymond Tallis.

Previous events have been organised in association with RCE North East, Discovery Museum, Newcastle's Centre for Lifelong Learning, Northumbria University, Newcastle University, the Institute of Ideas, RSA and WORLDwrite



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