Merlin Awarded $4,000 Grant from Humanities Montana for their 2023 Loss & Legacy Series

Woo-Hoo!!  We just received word that we’re being awarded a $4,000 grant from Humanities Montana for our 2023 Loss & Legacy Philosophy Symposia series. Learn more about the series & what grant funds will help support here!

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What Our 2022 Humanities Montana Grant Helped to Support

Our organization was awarded a $3,750 grant for our 2022 symposia series by Humanities MT and the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Funding from this grant, helped to support five unique community events (a 2-part series in Spring & a 3-part series in Fall), each of which invited discussion and question about the complex terrain of “being human together.” See how funds were used across these programs here!

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Suffering & Scars: A Conversation on the Teach Different Podcast

In this podcast, Steve and Dan Fouts – brothers & co-founders of Teach Different — visit with Marisa Diaz-Waian of Merlin CCC to discuss the role of suffering in shaping our character, enriched by the Teach Different Method. Listen to the podcast here!

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2022 Merlin Mailer End-of-Year Newsletter

Pictures can say 1,000 words. And this newsletter houses a photo album! In it you will find highlights from our programs in 2022 (and be able to access resources from each), learn about our 2021-2023 Student Scholar Fellow, meet some of our volunteers, check out what kinds of activities we have planned for the community in 2023 (we have a lot in queue!), and more! Check it out here!

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Merlin Student Scholar Fellow: Julianna Breit Rounding the Bend in 2023

Julianna Breit is our 2021-2023 Merlin Student Scholar Fellow. Learn more about her and the philosophical work she’ll be doing in & with the Helena community this year.

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Philosophy Workshop: “On Empathy”

In this philosophy workshop led by student scholar fellow Julianna Breit, we explored our roles in empathy, questioning the aim of empathetic interactions, and analyzing what empathy looks like when it’s done well. After looking at the aesthetic foundations of empathy, we considered the interplay between savoring the other’s emotion and mitigating our own emotional overload. Access resources & photos here!

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How Did We Get Here?: Species

In this installment of “How Did We Get Here?”, we considered the idea of “species,” from Plato and Aristotle, through the Middle Ages, to Charles Darwin (of course!), and down to the present. Along the way, we gained some insights into the role of ideas and abstraction in western scientific thought, reflect on the search for stability in a changing world, and cultivated a deeper appreciation for the ways that we, and our predecessors, strive to classify and categorize — both in the natural world, and in human society and culture. Access resources & photos here.

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Merlin Receives $1,000 Grant from the American Philosophical Association for their new “How Did We Get Here?” Philosophy Shorts Series

Woot-Woot!  We just received word that we’ve been awarded a $1,000 grant for our new Philosophy Shorts series “How Did We Get Here?” from the American Philosophical Association and the Berry Fund for Public Philosophy.

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