Existentialism and Sartre: Are They Still Relevant?

Laurie Gibson is leading a philosophy study day at St Albans Cathedral on Saturday 20 March 2027, from 10:30am to 3:00pm. The day centres on Jean-Paul Sartre's lecture Existentialism Is a Humanism, which serves as an entry point into existentialism that needs no prior knowledge of philosophy to get stuck into.

Rather than a single introductory talk, the session is built as a longer study day with time for discussion. You'll weigh Sartre's ideas alongside questions of freedom, responsibility and meaning, and ask whether they still hold up today. It's designed as a conversation rather than a lecture, so there's room to talk through the ideas and challenge them as you go.

Laurie Gibson brings a fair bit of experience to the table: she studied philosophy at Cambridge and taught it at A level, and has run U3A philosophy courses for over 15 years. She's also a Cathedral Guide and previously led a study day on Socrates, so she's well-versed in running these kinds of sessions in this particular space.

Tickets are £30, and the day is in-person only, with no livestream or recording. Clergy and readers in the St Albans Diocese get in for free. It runs from 10:30am to 3:00pm at the Cathedral in Sumpter Yard, AL1 1BY.