Doors Open – 6:00pm
Talk Begins – 7:30pm
General Admission £18 | Complimentary for Patrons
Post-Talk Set Menu £45
Do We Have A Soul, and Does It Matter?
Join us for an insightful fireside conversation at the intersection of philosophy and the AI age with author Lamorna Ash and Dr. Victoria Trumbull, philosopher, author and academic. Both known for beautiful prose, they will lead an evening of philosophical inquiry drawing on thinkers such as Henri Bergson, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and St. Augustine. The speakers will explore how memory shapes consciousness, whether the concept of the soul still carries meaning today, and what these questions reveal in an era when machines are increasingly seen as approaching intelligence.
Dr. Victoria Trumbull is a philosopher, researcher, and writer based in London. She received both her DPhil and MPhil from the University of Oxford, where her doctoral thesis was examined and endorsed by Rowan Williams. Her research focuses on the nature of the human mind, with particular attention to the relationship between time, memory, and the soul. Her first book, On the Memory of the Soul, will be published this year by Bloomsbury Philosophy. Upcoming speaking engagements include the How the Light Gets In Festival in May 2026.
Lamorna Ash is an author and journalist based in London. Her first book, Dark Salt Clear: Life in a Cornish Fishing Town was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize in 2020 and won the Somerset Maugham prize in 2021. Her second book, Don't Forget We're Here Forever: A New Generation’s Search for Religion, came out with Bloomsbury in May 2025, and is a Telegraph and GQ Book of the Year. She writes for the Observer, Vogue, New Statesman, Financial Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Dial and Kismet.