9: Jonathan Rowson – Dear Human Rights Movement

Jonathan Rowson is co-founder and Director of Perspectiva. He was previously Director of the Social Brain Centre at the RSA. Jonathan is an applied philosopher with degrees from Oxford, Harvard and Bristol Universities. In a former life he was a chess Grandmaster and British Champion (2004–6) and views the game as a continuing source of insight and inspiration. Towards the end of 2017, Jonathan was awarded an Open Society Foundation (OSF) Fellowship to inquire into the putative crisis in human rights. The essay which resulted – formulated as a letter to the Human Rights Movement – provides a deep and broad reflection into the crisis of human rights as symptomatic of a deeper and broader “meta-crisis:” a crisis in our perception and understanding of the world’s challenges. It was brilliant to welcome Jonathan to our first Podclass with students from our MA in Human Rights programme. The conversation gives a flavour of a provocative and insightful essay which provides valuable coordinates for exploring the status of human rights in these perilous times and their enduring relevance to a world defined by global systemic challenges. Jonathan can be found on twitter at: @Jonathan_Rowson The essay ‘Dear Human Rights Movement’ is available here. Other recent writings include: Tasting the Pickle: Ten flavours of meta-crisis and the appetite for a new civilisation, February 2021. The Moves That Matter: A Chess Grandmaster on the Game of Life (2019). Bloomsbury Publishing. Bildung in the 21st Century – Why sustainable prosperity depends upon reimagining education, June 2019.