In this evening’s program, we looked at some of the major ways in which the concept of philosophy has evolved over the centuries. In doing so, we traced some of the important ways in which philosophers have understood the subject-matter of their discipline. And we examined how, from very early on, philosophers have been especially self-conscious of the history of philosophy, in a way that is unique from other sciences. Access photos & resources here!
Why is it worthwhile to act justly, even if we could “get away” with injustice? Doesn’t the successful thief or tyrant have a life that’s attractive and enviable? How does the kind of society that we live in shape our character, values, and attitudes as individuals? Is it even possible to be a healthy person, in a society that’s profoundingly sick and unbalanced? Over the winter and early spring, we’ll be exploring these and other main themes from Plato’s Republic. For 5 every-other-Wednesday sessions, we’ll balance our time and attention between close reading of Plato’s text, and considering the implications of Plato’s arguments for our own lives and times. Access resources here!
What is (a) religion? What are religions for? Whom are they for? And conversely, if someone is “spiritual but not religious” (or simply not religious), what exactly is it that they aren’t? In this evening’s program, we explored some of the ways that the concept of “religion” has evolved and radically changed over time, along with the related concepts of spirituality and atheism. And we considered some of the social, political, and historical factors which have spurred changes in dominant and popular notions of religion, without necessarily reducing the domain of religion to merely those other factors. Access phots & resources here!
We so enjoyed being invited to open up for PLATO’s Roundtable discussion on cultivating an ease with changing course. Learn more about PLATO and check out the recording here!
Debates about “free will” crop up in a wide, wide variety of areas: In discussing law and punishment, we ask whether the defendant acted “of his own free will.” In physics and metaphysics, we wonder whether the future is fully deterministic, or whether our choices might affect the course of things. Theologians of various religious traditions ponder a variety of problems over how to reconcile human freedom with divine providence. And researchers in neuroscience and the philosophy of mind worry over the legacy bequeathed to them from Descartes: how, if at all, can the mind even be connected to the body? What, if anything, do these widely varied conversations in divergent fields have in common, besides the name “free will”? Access more here!
Our 2023 philosophy symposia series looks at what it means to be at the interface of loss and legacy. In Fall, we examined the question “How do we think about our ancestors?” during our symposium (held at the Helena Avenue Theater on October 19th) and considered a similar question focused on our military and ancestors in service by way of a WW1 Memorial documentary & community conversation (conducted in Reeder’s Alley on November 2nd). Access resources & watch the audio-video recording here!
In this philosophy walk led by philosopher Christopher Preston we explored five core questions centered around our relationship with and conceptions of the wild. Access audio recordings and photos here!
We often take “labor” and “work” as synonyms, describing an often-difficult process that’s required to “get by” in life, or even to “make our living.” Yet there’s also a strong contrast between the demanding-yet-fulfilling “work” and drudgery, as well as other complicated dances between labor and leisure, work and recreation, action and contemplation, “liberal” and “servile” pursuits. These complications have been viewed very differently across the centuries. In this installment of “How Did We Get Here?” we explored this and then some! Access resources here!
