Philosophy Workshop: “Beyond Mindfulness – Western Meditation Techniques in Theory & Practice”

In this workshop led by David Nowakowski, we explored three techniques of meditation with deep roots in Western spiritual, religious, and philosophical life and practice. We began with two simple exercises, popular among the ancient Pythagoreans and Stoics, for developing the power of recollection and preparing ourselves for challenging circumstances. Then we turned to a practice known as “discursive meditation.” Learn more & access resources here!

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Philosophy Walk: “From Ecology to Excellence”

In this walk led by philosopher David Nowakowski, we’ll explore how the ways that ecologists study and learn about wild nature, can also be used to study and learn about ourselves, as human beings in human communities. We’ll look at four ecological principles: whole systems, dynamic balance, resource flows, and limits. And we’ll explore together in dialogue, how we can apply them in our own lives. This is philosophy—the life of wisdom—in a raw, applied, down-to-earth form: Take a method of knowledge and exploration, use it to describe the key elements in the wider world (or in our own inner, private worlds), and then use that clear understanding to respond in the most effective ways, through our choices and actions. Learn more and RSVP here!

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Philosophy Workshop: “Knowing as Practice”

Philosophers sometimes treat knowledge as something we have when we’re seated comfortably in a proverbial or literal armchair. Yet at the very least, this seems to leave out a significant aspect of our humanity: the fact that we are embodied creatures, who actively and dynamically interact with the things that we think about and know. In this workshop led by philosophers Hila Tzipora Chase & David Nowakowski, we looked directly at ways of experiencing, of encountering, and of knowing that involve the full, embodied human being. Access resources and information here!

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Philosophy Workshop Series: “What is Philosophy?” (Thinking About Thinking)

In this final installment of our “What is Philosophy?” series with philosopher David Nowakowski, we looked at some of the most fundamental issues in philosophy: knowledge, reasoning, and what makes for an effective argument! Access resources and information here.

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Philosophy Workshop Series: “What is Philosophy?” (Making Sense of the World)

In this workshop we explored a variety of viewpoints and questions surrounding knowledge, explanation, and how we make sense of the world. Access resources and reading recommendations here!

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Philosophy Workshop Series: “What is Philosophy?” (Responding to the World)

In this workshop we explored how philosophers (over the millennia, in various corners of the globe) have approached the problems of ethics, and what kinds of answers they’ve proposed. Access resources and reading recommendations here!

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Philosophy Workshop Series: “What is Philosophy?” (The Basics)

To celebrate the new year, we kicked off our 2021 workshop series by looking at the questions: “What is philosophy? What does it involve, what does it do, and why should we care?” For this first ZOOM workshop led by philosopher David Nowakowski, we surveyed several approaches to the question, “What is philosophy?”, each of which raised its own further questions for reflection and discussion. We also took a quick tour of the major areas or divisions of philosophy, as they developed in Greece, India, and elsewhere. Access resources and reading recommendations here!

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