Philosophy

We will continue our discussion of modern Stoicism by reading the rest of chapter five and chapter six in A New Stoicism by Lawrence Becker. Chapter five completes his discussion of norms and motivations, while chapter six covers virtue. This should motivate you to do the virtuous thing: show up at our meeting on the 15th and let…

We are in the process of reading A New Stoicism by Lawrence Becker. He is continuing his arguments that virtue is the only good, at least for psychologically healthy people. Alas, there's always a catch.

We will conclude our reading of A New Stoicism by Lawrence Becker. This includes chapter 7, “Happiness,” and a couple of appendices. We are especially interested in having people come who consider themselves happy. Then the author can demonstrate that since they aren't stoically happy, they aren't as happy as they think they are, or as they…

We are turning to a classic book this time: The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus. This is a book that should have lots of used copies floating around, or you can get it new for $10 - $15. An ebook is about the same. You may even already have one in your own library. For this…

We are finishing the book The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus. While Pollyanna and Dr Pangloss might have some problem understanding Camus' point of view, they – and anyone who feels the same way as they do – are certainly welcome to come and mix with those who feel desperate and anguished and who see the…

We will be tackling a book by the contemporary Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek,The Parallax View (2006), which he calls his magnus opus. It can be found new in paperback for about $17 and as an ebook for $10. We will do chapter 1 for the 14th. According to Wikipedia Žižek has been referred to as “the Elvis of…

  We will discuss the rest of Part I of The Parallax View by Slavoj Žižek. Admittedly, this book can be a challenge. However, for the MISF Philosophy Study Group, challenge is our name. Or maybe our middle initial, anyway. But we can do this.

We will continue discussing The Parallax View by Slavoj Žižek, this time covering Part II. In this part Žižek applies his parallax metaphor to science. Reviewers, in general, think that Žižek does his best job in Part II where he contributes new insights for Continental Philosophy. Notably, these reviewers – including those who are Žižek enthusiasts ‒ also generally agree…

We will conclude our discussion of The Parallax View by Slavoj Žižek. This involves reading Part III in which Žižek covers how his philosophy works with politics. Žižek is one of the leading contemporary philosophers of Continental Philosophy (as contrasted with Analytic Philosophy). As a matter of fact, in one place he says that his goal is to…

For this meeting we have chosen to read a philosophical novel rather than our usual diet of books and articles by philosophers. The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade (1857) was the last novel written by Herman Melville. A paperback copy of the book can be found for $6 - $14 new and less if used. An ebook costs only…

Because this is an election year, we have decided to read what many say is the first modern political treatise: The Prince, written in the early 16th century by Niccolò Machiavelli. Being a classic, this book is readily available just about anywhere at a reasonable cost, and may even be in your own library. A downloadable copy…

Cancelled (to be rescheduled) We will begin a discussion of the book, The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness (revised second edition, 1998) by Simon Wiesenthal. This book consists of a story of a German soldier asking forgiveness from the author – a Jew – for an atrocity the soldier had committed. At the…

For this meeting we have chosen a book that was very popular some years ago and has managed to retain its popularity. The book is Why Bad Things Happen to Good People (1981) by Harold Kushner, in which the author, a Jewish rabbi, tackles the problem of evil. This book should be widely available, new or used,…

We will begin a discussion of Aristotle's Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages (2004) by Richard E. Rubenstein. This book can be had for under $20 in paperback and for about $15 as an ebook. We will read the first four chapters. (This is a bit ambitious, but do the…