The School of Philosophy and Economic Science

After having attended the introductory course on Practical Philosophy, I can only put 5 stars simply based on results. Ten precious sessions of sharing and wisdom, which we all have hidden inside, awakened by a egoless couple of facilitators, Chris and Chris, who really made the difference. Highly recommended!Thanks also to all my fellow students, patient and generous.

I've been attending the school off and on for many years, at first in person and then online when I moved away. I cannot recommend it enough. It has improved my mental health significantly. It is consistent with mindfulness research. The things I've learned have become my go to toolkit for dealing with the stresses and challenges of life. The courses are all very iterative, reinforcing the same concepts throughout, concepts consistent and common to philosophies and religions around the world, concepts that have stood the test of time. Classes are practical discussions. There's no textbook or homework to study like in traditional courses. The homework given is to just try to apply the concepts to your real everyday life. It's a very welcoming atmosphere where students and tutors really listen to each other, because that's one of the main things taught - to be in the present moment and give it your full attention.

I’ve taken courses in philosophy and economics here. I’ve learned a huge amount, had many great conversations and made some lifelong friends. I can highly recommend the school, you will be made very welcome.

I can definitely recommend this course. Really accessible and practical study and application of wider philosophy. Groups of like minded people from all walks of life and areas of the country (and indeed the World) via Zoom. Has transformed my thinking and awareness generally and has also made me aware that I have choices around my reactions to life events …. life changing !Give it a go! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I attended several courses here, and enjoyed them very much.Mandeville Place is a beautiful building and easy to get to, as well as being in a lovely area too.The Philosophy courses are thought provoking, useful in your day-to-day experience and foster a good sense of introspection. Just on a social level you meet such nice people.

I have just spent a most enjoyable and enlightening weekend at the residential retreat centre at Waterperry.What a great venue! Beautiful gardens, wonderful accommodation. Just fine. Well done everyone who was involved.I will certainly be going again.I attend a weekly group meeting just 15 minutes drive away. Such solid, open people and so inspiring.

Attended 22 years ago in person after answering an advert in the paper asking Do you want to answer the question

Went here a while ago for an introductory course .Everything in the way they act is polite, but also artifice. Slightly cowed older people, many with past demons. Definite powerplays going on. Very traditional female vs male behavioural modes. Way too many bow ties.Cult, I'd say.I know the early bits are where they're supposed to act nice to lure you in, but they were already singling one guy out in a sort of pincer movment since he knew more than the lecturers and mocked one of the core teachings for being trite.Heck of a lot of people never came back, even in the early lectures. Guy in the cafe said they cancel lectures and cascade members to other sessions, so drop-off is less obvious.Another thing I remembered - they leapt on this woman for eating meat in the cafe. So much for being investigative & educational. Tell me you're just a religion without telling me you're a religion!!You could ask two questions of the long-termers who do the volunteering, and each would be simultaneously true, even after what I assume is years there:Q1. 'Do you get something out of SPES courses ?' A1. 'Yes, no doubt of it.'Q2. 'Are you a happy person in yourself ?' A2. 'No.'It's not AA, but the topic set-up and scripting zeroes right in on that patch. I guess it helps some folks.But this weird confection of Yoga and misunderstood one-liners from Western philosophy certainly isn't deep, and won't be for everyone.

I've learnt a lot from the Economics with Justice courses. Obviously it is a huge subject and impossible to cover everything once a week however if you're like me and have little prior knowledge of economics and are looking understand how it affects our lives and world this is the course for you.