How Did We Get Here?: Philosophy

In this evening’s program, we’ll look at some of the major ways in which the concept of philosophy has evolved over the centuries. In doing so, we’ll trace some of the important ways in which philosophers have understood the subject-matter of their discipline. And we’ll examine 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. Learn more & RSVP here.

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How Did We Get Here?: Democracy

Our “How Did We Get Here?” events take us on a tour of some neglected and forgotten paths of intellectual history, asking “How Did We Get Here?” for important philosophical, scientific, and cultural concepts like dignity, free will, science, and the nation. In this gathering we’ll explore the intellectual lineage of democracy with Professor Stephen Forrest. Learn more & RSVP here!

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Reading & Discussion Series: Exploring the Republic

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. Learn more & RSVP here!

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Reading & Discussion Series: Exploring the Republic

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. Learn more & RSVP here!

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Reading & Discussion Series: Exploring the Republic

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. Learn more & RSVP here!

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How Did We Get Here?: Religion – NO MORE SEATS AVAILABLE

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’ll explore 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’ll consider 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. Learn more & RSVP here!

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How Did We Get Here?: Free Will

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”?  By looking at the history of this much-contested concept in this month’s session of “How Did We Get Here?”, we can begin to peel back the layers! Learn more & RSVP here!

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How Did We Get Here?: Labor & Work

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’ll explore this and then some! Learn more & RSVP here.

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