On the Pieter Scholtz Stage*, an intriguing focus for the November 2nd "Mondays at Six" St Clements programme. During the past six months they’ve had elephants, botanicals and bees.
Now, a
gentle transition: to philosophy and human be-ings with Professor David
Spurrett, who will share observations and provocations from his new book, Whose Mind is It Anyway?
David Spurrett calls himself a naturalist philosopher of cognitive science and biology. His current research is about how technology of various kinds can subvert our own thinking processes. He has applied this to a variety of examples including electronic gambling machines, high-heeled shoes, cigarettes and mind-controlling parasites.
At the November Mondays at Six, he will introduce two big ideas in thinking about cognition — ‘hostility’ and ‘scaffolding’ — and explain what happens when they come together. He’ll say a little about the book he’s writing on these topics (Whose Mind is It Anyway?) and answer questions.
To share a paragraph from his website: “Bodies and external resources make significant contributions to cognition by living beings and some artificial ones. This is now widely recognised, but not long ago the mainstream view was that cognition was exclusively internal and neural (or computational). The fact that cognition can extend into bodies and environments is generally presented as good news for users of technologies that augment or improve. There undoubtedly are benefits, but extended cognition brings vulnerabilities. Any agent might be useful to others, so we should expect those vulnerabilities to be found and exploited…”
David Spurrett grew up in South Africa, Zimbabwe and the UK. He studied philosophy at the University of Natal and King’s College London, and is professor of philosophy at UKZN where he has received a distinguished teacher’s award, the vice chancellor’s research award, and a fellowship. He has co-written or co-edited books on addiction, problem gambling, cognition and the will, and philosophy of science. Previous book titles include Midbrain Mutiny and what is addiction? His main hobbies, “which I should have started much younger”, include learning to play the piano and studying Kenjutsu.
— Visit him on his website - https://davidspurrett.com/
The programme takes place at 18h00 on Monday, November 2, 2026.
Table bookings essential: RSVP ST Clements +27 62 582 0980
Single folk are welcome to book for one person and join a table.
When the donation box is passed around, the venue requests
generosity and a minimum of R50 per person.
Weather permitting, the programme will be outdoors.
Be there in time to open your tab, order at the counter (yes, back to the usual in November) and settle in before the scheduled 1800 start. Please cancel if you book then can’t make it.
St Clements is situated at 191 Musgrave Road in Durban.
*A Pieter Scholtz
(1937 — 2025) ‘Mondays at Six’ legacy soiree.
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