About Our Long Reads

There is a special kind of deep, focused learning that can only happen through close, careful engagement with the written word — and especially with the written words and arguments of thoughtful, rigorous thinkers.  To foster that engagement in a friendly, collaborative setting, our “Long Reads” series will focus on close reading of philosophical books, both classic and contemporary.  Throughout the series, we’ll be interested both in the specific arguments that various philosophers make, and in developing the skills and habits of reading in a specifically philosophical way.

We’ll approach the books in a philosophical mode, which means that we’ll focus on understanding the argument(s), and on opening ourselves up to change and transformation through our encounter with them.  In our reading, and in our conversation together, we’ll work together, first to understand the author’s arguments on their own terms, as deeply and charitably as possible, and then to evaluate those arguments and consider their implications for our own lives.

Because this is a reading group, all attendees should read the relevant material prior to each session, so that we’re all (figuratively and literally) on the same page, and so that the depth and richness of the book can structure our conversation. 

We’ll post some thoughts and questions, which you can use to guide your reading, a few weeks prior to our meet-up.  

David Nowakowski is as a philosopher and educator in the Helena area whose professional work is dedicated to helping people of all ages and backgrounds access, understand, and apply the traditions of ancient philosophy to their own lives.  David began studying ancient philosophies and classical languages in 2001, and has continued ever since.  A scholar of the philosophical traditions of the ancient Mediterranean (Greece, Rome, and North Africa) and of the Indian subcontinent, reading Sanskrit, Latin, and classical Greek, he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University in 2014.  His work has appeared in a variety of scholarly journals, including Philosophy East & West, Asian Philosophy, and the Journal of Indian Philosophy, as well as in presentations to academic audiences at Harvard, Columbia University, the University of Toronto, Yale-NUS College in Singapore, and elsewhere. 

After half a decade teaching at liberal arts colleges in the northeast, David chose to leave the academy in order to focus his energies on the transformative value of these ancient philosophical and spiritual traditions in his own life and practice, and on building new systems of education and community learning that will make this rich heritage alive and available to others.