1. ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION
AND ITS RESOLUTION

 

WTM FAQ 1.51  How does the WTM respond to criticism of Sir Laurens van der Post?

 

Jeremy Griffith considers the South African philosopher Sir Laurens van der Post (1906-1996) as one of the world’s most prophetic thinkers in modern times, with more quotes from Sir Laurens’s writings appearing in Jeremy’s books on the human condition than from any other person. You can read Jeremy’s essay on the profundity of Sir Laurens’s thinking in Freedom Essay 51.

It has been pointed out that Sir Laurens had an affair with a 14 year old girl, with whom he later fathered an illegitimate child. We suggest critics of Sir Laurens read that F. Essay 51 as it explains just what a brave thinker Sir Laurens was and how that bravery led him to be persecuted and his work misrepresented, which hopefully people will read if they have concerns about Jeremy’s views on Sir Laurens. He certainly behaved appallingly having that affair, but we suggest that this episode, while wrong, has been misrepresented and misused by writers such as J.D.F. Jones in order to negate the value and profundity of Sir Laurens’s life and writings.

We would direct you to Christopher Booker’s review of J.D.F. Jones’s book titled ‘Small lies and the greater truth’, which goes some way to exposing the lack of balance in the accusations made against Sir Laurens. You might note at the end of Booker’s review he says the misrepresentation of Sir Laurens’s life by Mr Jones ‘has cleared the decks for some other author to write that grown-up account which Jones’s ‘authorised biography’ of such a remarkable figure should have been in the first place’. Well, Jeremy has done just that in his book titled How Laurens van der Post Saved The World, which will be made freely available to the public in the near future.