Here’s a question I’d like to see discussed: Can there be a theory of everything? I don’t just mean it in the physicist’s sense, where it concerns unifying quantum theory and relativity. I mean a single theory of the physical world, the biological world, the psychological world, and whatever other worlds you might think exist (mathematical, ethical, esthetic, social, and so on). Could all these domains be brought under a unitary empirical theory? The idea sounds very dubious to me. But why exactly?

I see my book Inborn Knowledge: The Mystery Within is now advertised on Amazon, as well as the MIT Press website, publication date December 18. I first wrote about the topic as a postgraduate in psychology in 1972 as my MA thesis, but have published nothing on it up till now. It seems to have taken me forty years to sort out my thoughts. I discuss it very much as a philosophical topic rather than one of empirical psychology, though the two are obviously connected. It’s a fascinating subject.

I have an idea for a better way to present papers, which I intend to follow myself. Instead of the usual one hour paper followed by a one hour discussion, present two short papers each of which is followed by a shorter discussion period. Thus in the first hour present paper 1 for half an hour or less and then allow half an hour or so for discussion; then in the second hour present paper 2 following the same format. This will make it easier for the audience to listen and punctuate the proceedings with discussion earlier on. It also allows for a wider coverage of topics so that more people will find something to be interested in. I like this idea in part because I have been experimenting with composing short pithy philosophy papers instead of the usual longwinded efforts. One could also go further and present three or four very short papers in the usual couple of hours.

I watched an excellent documentary on The Jam the other day, with the incomparable Paul Weller in fine mod form. It reminded me of the state of England in the early 1980’s, especially as captured in their song “A Bomb in Wardour Street”. This is the world I tried to depict in my novel Bad Patches, which I wrote around that time: the world of the yob, with artist-as-yob. The anger and despair of the Jam song matches the anger and despair of the main character in my novel. I wanted my novel to feel like their record–raw, violent, sad.