Midway in to my second semester of Philosophy at the Uni of Vienna, I’m faced with Austria’s fourth lockdown. As with all other lockdowns so far, whether here or back in the UK, there will soon be a prime opportunity to reflect. I thought, therefore, that the best place to begin my reflections would be with my studies. I’m six or so weeks into the second semester, after doing much better than expected in the first semester – largely, I suspect, due to the fact that I could do it all in English. This time it’s different. Of the six courses I’m doing, four are German, and solely German; group wo ..read more

This is a question which endlessly floats around me. I see plenty of well meaning people, particularly on social media, who suggest buying bamboo toothbrushes, shopping at the local farm shop, and only buying your coffee beans from independent roasteries, and so on. As pure as the intentions might be here, I can’t help but feel that it’s misguided, even pointless. First of all, the scope of people who will see these posts, demographically speaking, is very narrow. The people who will willingly listen to an influencer speak about sustainability already likely have an interest in the subject, an ..read more

As a result of the recent calamitous finalisation of Brexit, I was sprung with the surprise that my presence at uni will set me back an additional €1500 a year, something which was never mentioned before. It’s an addition to the misery and confusion Brexit has caused, no doubt, however it is also food for thought. Before, my degree cost as much as my mere outgoings for living. Now, there’s a real price tag on it. The reason why I picked philosophy in the first place was for my interest in it, and I decided to study it in German-speaking country as my other primary passion is learning German ..read more

It’s well known that Adolf Hitler, as a younger man, moved to Vienna to pursue a career in art. Widely regarded by critics as an unremarkable artist, it seems irrelevant to pose the following question when talking of Hitler, as his art is hardly worth talking about in its own right. But let’s imagine he produced the most breathtaking art before rising as the Führer. Could we still appreciate his masterpieces, in spite of his proceeding atrocities? This is of course hypothetical, but there are real life examples where posing the question of whether artist and their art are bound together morall ..read more

Perhaps there’s a way to deal with the chaos and uncertainty of 2020, and here it is: Imagine that the worst case scenario happens, in every sense. This is one of the principles of ‘Stoicism’, and it might sound a bit bizarre at first, but there is some genuinely sound thinking behind it. It’s about resilience, and generally I think a lot of us apply this method of thinking in day to day life, perhaps without even noticing it. If the Austrian authorities are reading, please stop now. Okay, now they’re gone, I can divulge my worries, and what prompted me to think about stoicism. I don’t have he ..read more

We, collectively in the UK, don’t seem to deem it as necessary to learn foreign languages. It’s a modern form of imperialism. “Learning foreign languages in school was the only thing that kept me going.” That there is one of my frequently employed quotes whenever I’m discussing my school life. It’s just a shame, therefore, that the teaching of foreign languages in the UK is utterly lacklustre. We should start at the beginning: A computer program called ‘Rigolo’. A 2D-animated app designed for primary school pupils to learn the basics of French – it used cartoon members of a family, who inexp ..read more

Midway in to my second semester of Philosophy at the Uni of Vienna, I’m faced with Austria’s fourth lockdown. As with all other lockdowns so far, whether here or back in the UK, there will soon be a prime opportunity to reflect. I thought, therefore, that the best place to begin my reflections would be with my studies. I’m six or so weeks into the second semester, after doing much better than expected in the first semester – largely, I suspect, due to the fact that I could do it all in English. This time it’s different. Of the six courses I’m doing, four are German, and solely German; group wo ..read more

This is a question which endlessly floats around me. I see plenty of well meaning people, particularly on social media, who suggest buying bamboo toothbrushes, shopping at the local farm shop, and only buying your coffee beans from independent roasteries, and so on. As pure as the intentions might be here, I can’t help but feel that it’s misguided, even pointless. First of all, the scope of people who will see these posts, demographically speaking, is very narrow. The people who will willingly listen to an influencer speak about sustainability already likely have an interest in the subject, an ..read more

As a result of the recent calamitous finalisation of Brexit, I was sprung with the surprise that my presence at uni will set me back an additional €1500 a year, something which was never mentioned before. It’s an addition to the misery and confusion Brexit has caused, no doubt, however it is also food for thought. Before, my degree cost as much as my mere outgoings for living. Now, there’s a real price tag on it. The reason why I picked philosophy in the first place was for my interest in it, and I decided to study it in German-speaking country as my other primary passion is learning German ..read more

It’s well known that Adolf Hitler, as a younger man, moved to Vienna to pursue a career in art. Widely regarded by critics as an unremarkable artist, it seems irrelevant to pose the following question when talking of Hitler, as his art is hardly worth talking about in its own right. But let’s imagine he produced the most breathtaking art before rising as the Führer. Could we still appreciate his masterpieces, in spite of his proceeding atrocities? This is of course hypothetical, but there are real life examples where posing the question of whether artist and their art are bound together morall ..read more