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Something Understood

Religion & Ethics

Ethical and religious discussion that examines some of the larger questions of life

Ethical and religious discussion that examines some of the larger questions of life, taking a spiritual theme and exploring it through music, prose and poetry

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Something Understood: The Good Old Days

The Good Old Days

02/10/2016

BBC Radio 4 - Something Understood, The Good Old Days

John McCarthy gazes back fondly and argues that nostalgia has a lot to offer us.

Ethical and religious discussion examining some of the larger questions of life. John McCarthy gazes back fondly and argues that nostalgia has a lot to offer us.

John McCarthy looks back over the history of nostalgia, tracing the term back to the 17th century when a medical student coined it as a way of describing the bouts of homesickness the Swiss mercenaries were experiencing while fighting far from their native mountains.

In years past, treatment for nostalgia ranged from the application of leeches to being buried alive. 

For John, far from being a disease, nostalgia is something that can be harnessed with beneficial results. Reflecting on his own time as a hostage in Lebanon, John explains that nostalgia can strengthen us, as long as it doesn't develop into a morbid obsession.

While homesickness and nostalgia might have plagued soldiers, they have always provided artists and composers with a powerful source of inspiration. Featured music includes Antonín Dvorák's Symphony Number 9 - From The New World, George Butterworth's setting of The Lads in their Hundreds and Robert Schumann's Kinderszenen. Poetry includes the work of John Masefield and Carol Ann Duffy.

John discovers that there is much to be gained from examining nostalgia through the lens of religion. The sermons of C S Lewis, the words of the Buddha and the research of Friar Dr Paul Witts who has studied the role of nostalgia in the life of the local church, all provide fertile material for contemplation. John also draws upon the works of Sigmund Freud and the 18th century British regimental surgeon Robert Hamilton.

John concludes that, while nostalgia certainly has a lot to offer, we shouldn't let it trump an enjoyment of the here now. After all, as the American band Eels so poignantly declare, these could be the good old days.


Presenter: John McCarthy
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.

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