Group Leaders Anita Maunsell and Mary Hughes. To email the Group Leaders click on this link: TTS Group Leaders .

“The aim of the group is to explore and talk about the ideas, beliefs, events and inventions that contribute to the way we live our lives today".

In May the discussion looked at the ‘Value' of Work, a subject which, the more we thought about it, the more channels opened up. Even trying to determine how we define the word 'work' led to extensive discussion.

We questioned the phrase 'Protestant work ethic' and asked: Is labour good in itself? Do we gain dignity and status through work? Is work a form of self-expression? Plato proposed a three-level system of labour each based on innate abilities - the top level being the ruling class of 'philosopher kings'; the thinkers. But since the Industrial Revolution many philosophers and social theorists have been sceptical about the value of work and work-centred cultures typical of contemporary affluent societies.

This topic proved to very stimulating and wide-ranging… real food for thought.