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Reading & Discussion Series
October 16 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm MDT
Details
This reading series will be guided by the following central question: What wisdom might Jewish traditions offer for our current environmental crises? Philosophy, as the love of wisdom, should be open to wisdom wherever it embeds itself. The Tanakh, the textual source of Judaism, arose from within a largely agrarian society with deep connections to particular lands and places. It seems reasonable, then, to start with the assumption that the traditions of thought and practice that have grown out of the Hebrew Bible (and inspired it) might offer environmental wisdom for our pressing times.
The French and Jewish philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, had something similar in mind for his own philosophical project, which has been described as an attempt to translate Hebrew into Greek—that is, to express a Hebraic way of thinking within a Greek, or philosophic, context. Following in Levinas’s tracks here, we will also consider larger, contextualizing questions about the possibility of “translating” non-philosophical ideas into philosophical terms.
Together, over 4 every-other-Wednesday sessions, we will closely read and discuss the contemporary import of essays from a variety of Jewish authors including Abraham Joshua Heschel, Leo Strauss, Daniel Delgado, James Hatley, and others. Sessions will be discussion-based, facilitated by Kaleb Cohen and Mitchell Conway, with one or two guest facilitators joining along the way.
Session Readings & Focus Questions
9/18 — Translation and Sh’mitah: Jewish Philosophy, Rest, and the Land
- Readings: Leo Strauss, “On the Interpretation of Genesis,” Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Architecture of Time,” and Nigel Savage, “Resetting the Planet through Sh’mitah”
- Core questions: How might Hebraic ideas inform philosophy? Are they philosophical or solely religious ideas? Can those ideas have any meaning outside of their cultural context? What is the meaning of rest in an age of industrialization and unrelenting resource extraction?
10/2 — Between Home and Exile
- Readings: Daniel Delgado, “You are but Tenants and Settlers” (supplemental/optional: Susannah Heschel, “An Exile of the Soul”)
- Core question: What role might the Jewish notion of exile hold for an environmental ethic?
10/16 — Jewishness and Montana: Bison and the Soul (with guest scholar James Hatley)
- Readings: James Hatley, “Living with Ghosts”
- Core question: In Montana, how ought we respond to a history of violence against buffalo and Indigenous peoples and what could Jewish traditions teach us about these responses?
10/30 — Blessing the World: Jewish Philosophy and Practice in Montana
- Readings: TBD
- Core Question: How could the deeply Jewish practice of blessing be a practice of environmental responsibility?
When & Where
This Merlin reading & discussion series facilitated by Kaleb Cohen & Mitch Conway will take place every other Wednesday from Sept. 18th – Oct. 30th.
Details
Date: Every other Wednesday
From: Sept. 18th – Oct. 30th
Time: 7pm-8:30pm
Where: 101 Reeder’s Alley (Conference Center)
Registration Info
RSVP: Sign-up here!
Cost: Free (Donations Welcome)
Other: Readings will be e-mailed upon sign-up
Series Facilitator
![Kaleb Cohen](https://merlinccc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Kaleb-Cohen-683x1024.jpg)
Kaleb Cohen’s work sits at the intersection of philosophy, environmental studies, and critical theory. He has presented and published papers on various topics, including the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, settler colonialism and environmental responsibility, and the importance of oral traditions. He holds an MA in Environmental Philosophy from the University of Montana. His graduate work culminated in developing a distinctly Jewish and anti-colonial relationship with land. He also has a background in farming, gardening, ecological restoration, and conservation. Kaleb lives in Missoula, where he teaches for the Wild Rockies Field Institute, makes bread, and hibernates during the winter.
![mitchell_conway](https://merlinccc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/mitchell_conway.jpg)
Mitchell Conway is a Community Philosopher at Merlin CCC, an adjunct philosophy instructor at Carroll College, and serves on the Academic Advisory Board & Questions? Journal for The Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization. A student of philosophy, a theater maker, and a teacher who cares ardently about empowering young learners, his work has often been an interweaving of education, story, and inquiry. He also relishes walking in the forest. Mitchell has a Bachelor’s degree in Theater from Skidmore College and a Master’s degree in Philosophy & Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.
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Our philosophy workshops & series and other activities are FREE to the community. While donations are never expected, they are always appreciated and help to keep programs like these going. Your tax-deductible donations help to cover honorariums, logistics, materials, implementation, resource archiving, and more! For those facing more challenging financial circumstances, we ask that you please try to “pay it forward” with acts of kindness for your neighbors and community.