Philosophy Study Group
2025-02-12 07:00 - 21:00 UTC | via Zoom
We will be beginning a new book, The Philosophy of Freedom, by Rudolf Steiner. Originally published in 1894, this book has been translated many times and has been very influential in some quarters. A new paperback can cost from $7 to $22 and an ebook from $2 to $10, depending on the translation. If you don’t want to spend any money, it can also be found online for free: The Rudolf Steiner archive (https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA004/) has all his books and all English translations available, and on https://philosophyoffreedom.com/page/download/ you can find the book in various formats. The book has also been published under the titles The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity and Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path.

The only translation authorized by the Rudolf Steiner is the original one of 1916 by Prof. and Mrs. R.F. Alfred Hoernlé. While considered an accurate translation, some people criticize it for following too closely to the original German, thus making it rather stiff-sounding in English. Others think the 1964 translation by Michael Wilson is well-done since he understands Steiner’s thought and spirit and writes in a more natural English. There are other translations – including ones trying to tweak the Hoernlés’ – and you are, of course, free to choose whichever one you wish. For the 12th we’ll read the first part, “Knowledge of Freedom.”
Finally, we should note that the book also has been published under several different subtitles, as well, but we are going to ignore those. We’ll just call it The Philosophy of Freedom. If you really want to get into something that makes a difficult matter more difficult, maybe you can involve yourself with the Minnesota State House of Representatives.
Curt

Uncommon Common Sense: Riding the Dragons of Complexity
2025-02-22 10:30 - 12:00 | Shoreview Library, 4560 Victoria St N, Shoreview, MN, 55126
Complexity sciences, and their applications to human systems, have been around since the early 1980s, but the power in academe, business, industry, and government still sit squarely in Newtonian worldviews. Why? What are the challenges of thinking through the lens of complex adaptive systems?

In the history of science, practice leads theory into a new paradigm. We see the influence of complexity all around us today, while the theory remains at the edges of disciplines like economics, public health, education, public policy, business, philanthropy, and politics. Explore the underlying assumptions that inform future-oriented practice while they challenge traditional theory. Eoyang calls these radical views of reality dragons. As in ancient maps, the unknown beyond was filled with monsters and dragons. Today, too, “there be dragons” beyond the bounds of traditional knowledge. You will explore six radical ideas that will inform your personal understanding and action in a complex world.
Glenda H. Eoyang, PhD
Founding Executive Director Human Systems Dynamics Institute geoyang@hsdinstitute.org
www.hsdinstitute.org
Glenda Eoyang works with public and private organizations to help them thrive in the face of overwhelming complexity and uncertainty. She is a pioneer in the applications of complexity science to human systems, and she founded the field of human systems dynamics (HSD) in 2001. She received her BA in physics and philosophy from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico and her doctorate in Human Systems dynamics from the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, OH. Through Human Systems Dynamics Institute, she leads a global network of over one thousand scholar-practitioners. They apply HSD to wicked problems ranging from early childhood education to violent extremism, public health, and corporate futures and strategy. She has published across disciplines in both academic and practitioner literature. Her book, Adaptive Action: Leveraging Uncertainty in Your Organization (Stanford University Press, 2013) outlines her wide-ranging theory and practice. It is a roadmap for anyone who chooses to work at the intersection of order and chaos.

Philosophy Study Group
2025-03-12 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
During this meeting we will finish our discussion of the book, The Philosophy of Freedom, by Rudolf Steiner by reading Parts II and III. In Part I Steiner laid out his concept of how the human mind is constructed and operates. In Part II he tells us all the wonderful things you can do with this mind, with concluding remarks in Part III. We’d like to note that one of the wonderful things you can do with a human mind is to bring it to our meeting to discuss whether or not you can do the things the way that Steiner says you can. Surprisingly, he never mentions this option.

A brief introduction to the history of artmaking in Minnesota
2025-03-22 10:30 - 12:00 | Shoreview Library, 4560 Victoria St N, Shoreview, MN, 55126
From such historic luminaries as Seth Eastman and Alexis Fournier to contemporary artists Jim Denomie and Dan Bruggeman, this lecture will review the nearly 200 year history of artmaking in Minnesota. Bring your questions.
Art historian Brian Szott, Curator of Art at the Minnesota Historical Society from 2001 to 2022, organized numerous exhibitions including Seth Eastman: Artist on the Frontier, Thank God and FDR, and Art Speaks. Previously, he was director of MCAD Gallery at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Szott is a co-author of the 2015 Afton Press publication Minnesota Modern: Four Artists of the 20th Century.

Philosophy Study Group
2025-04-09 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
We will begin reading Simone de Beauvoir’s attempt to provide an ethical foundation for existentialism, The Ethics of Ambiguity. This book is available in paperback for about $15 and as an eBook for about $10. Used copies are also available. For the 9th we’ll read Parts I and II.

Just so you know, there’s nothing ambiguous about the MISF Philosophy Study Group, though. Our thoughtful members come from a variety of philosophical positions, although sometimes they can be dead wrong or even a little idiotic or uncertain of where they’re going. But they’re good people, except when some of them talk out of turn or interrupt someone. Still, we’re glad to have them, except when we have to ask someone to leave. However, you’re all unambiguously welcome to come on the 9th. Most of you, anyway.

Curt

Poetry Day
2025-04-26 10:30 - 12:00 | Shoreview Library, 4560 Victoria St N, Shoreview, MN, 55126
Poetry day will feature two outstanding local poets, Connie Wanek and Joyce Sutphen.
Each will read from a selection of her works with time for questions and an open mic for all interested thereafter.

Connie Wanek was born in Wisconsin, raised in New Mexico, and lived for over a quarter century in
Duluth, MN. She is the author of seven books, including Rival Gardens: New and Selected Poems from
University of Nebraska Press, and an eight book is forthcoming in Spring, 2025. A book of poems for
younger readers, co-authored with Ted Kooser, was published by Candlewick Books in 2022 and won
the prestigious CLiPPA award in the UK. Wanek’s poems have appeared in Poetry,
The Atlantic Monthly, The Virginia Quarterly Review, and many other publications over the years.
She was named a Witter Bynner Fellow of the Library of Congress and received the
George Morrison Artist of the Year Award. In 2017 a wildflower trail in Duluth’s Hartley Nature Center was named in her honor.

Joyce Sutphen grew up on a farm in Stearns County, Minnesota. Her first book of poetry, Straight Out of View, won the Barnard New Women’s Poets Prize Press,1995). Her second book of poems, Coming Back to the Body (Holy Cow! Press, 2000), was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award, and her third book, Naming the Stars (Holy Cow! Press, 2004), won the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry. Her recent books are Carrying Water to the Field: New and Selected Poems (University of Nebraska Press, 2019), This Long Winter (Carnegie Mellon Press 2021), and That Other Life (Carnegie 2023), and Home Words (just published by Red Dragonfly Press). She served as the Minnesota Poet Laureate from 2011 to 2021, succeeding Robert Bly, and she is professor emerita of literature and creative writing at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota.

Philosophy Study Group
2025-05-14 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
We will finish discussing Simone de Beauvoir’s attempt to build an ethical system for existentialist philosophy, The Ethics of Ambiguity. Not a few people didn’t think it was possible. Did she succeed? This is for you to decide, and we’re very interested in what you think. We’re even more interested in how this might fit into your own personal ethical system and how you justify that. If it’s just that you think you deserve more than everyone else, we have some work to do.
Curt

Religion As A Resource for Peace And A Justification For Violence.
2025-05-17 10:30 - 12:00 | Shoreview Library, 4560 Victoria St N, Shoreview, MN, 55126
Peace is a shared aspiration and value in all of our religious traditions. Peace, however, remains an ever-receding goal in our world. Speaking of peace as a shared value is important, but it does not bring about peace. Our traditions offer us transformative peace-making teachings, but these traditions are located in historical and socio-political contexts. They become intertwined and associated, often willingly, with forces and movements that promote violence by privileging one group and marginalizing others.

The rise of religious nationalism in many parts of our world is only one example of an alliance between religion and political forces that is prone to violence. We cannot, therefore, overlook the role of religion in intensifying narrow loyalties, entrenching divisions and providing a justification for violence. We cannot explain away the relationship between religion and violent conflict by the argument that, in all instances, religion is being used or misused for the achievement of power in its various forms. The responsibility of religion in situations of division and conflict must be critically acknowledged. In investigating religion and peace-making our analysis must be hopeful but not simplistic. We must be both self-critical and constructive to lift up the resources of religion for peace-making and the common good. We must make the effort to go deep in our analysis to understand the paradox of religion as both peace-maker and contributor to violence.
Anantanand Rambachan is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Saint Olaf College, Minnesota, USA (1985-2021). He was also Forum Humanum Visiting Professor at the Academy for the Study of World Religions at the University of Hamburg in Germany (2013-2017).
His books include Accomplishing the Accomplished: The Vedas as a Source of Valid Knowledge in Ṡaṅkara; The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda’s Reinterpretation of the Authority of the Vedas, The Advaita Worldview: God, World and Humanity, A Hindu Theology of Liberation: Not-Two is Not-One; Essays in Hindu Theology and Pathways to Hindu-Christian Dialogue. In addition, Professor Rambachan has authored numerous book-chapters and journal essays. The British Broadcasting Corporation transmitted a series of 25 lectures on Hinduism by Prof. Rambachan around the world.
Prof. Rambachan has been involved in interreligious relations and dialogue for over 40 years, as a Hindu contributor and analyst. He is a Co-President of Religions for Peace, the largest global interfaith network and serves as President of the Board, Arigatou International NY, a global organization advocating for the rights of children and mobilizing the resources of religions to overcome violence against children. He also Chairs the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Multifaith Network. He is active in the dialogue programs of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue at the Vatican, and currently participates in the Ethics in Action dialogues at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In 2008, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Professor Rambachan delivered the distinguished Lambeth Interfaith Lecture at the Lambeth Palace in London. Professor Rambachan led the first two White House Celebrations of the Hindu Festival of Diwali in 2003 and 2004.

Philosophy Study Group
2025-06-11 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
We will be embarking on a new book: How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality (1996) by Per Bak. Unfortunately, this is one of the pricier books that we have selected for our group. All forms of the book – hardcover, paperback, and eBook – list for $60. Fortunately, however, they can be found for less. As of the time of this writing, Amazon is offering a new hardcover for $33 and a new paperback for $38; Google Play is offering an eBook for $47 to own and $18 to rent for 90 days. There are also used books available and, of course, there is the library. For the 11th we’ll read the first three chapters.

This book lays out a new way of looking at nature. It’s an examination of how to approach complexity, from black holes to evolution, and what that means for what might happen in the future. While the laws of nature are simple, nature itself is enormously complex. While Newton’s equations can be expressed as just a few variables with basic arithmetic relations, calculating what’s going on in nature can require some of the most abstract, complicated mathematics. Please note that there will be a test at the end. Just kidding. But brush up on your calculus just in case.
Curt

Annual Meeting
2025-06-28 10:30 - 11:00 | Shoreview Library, 4560 Victoria St N, Shoreview, MN, 55126
The Annual Meeting of the MISF membership will precede the Rhoda Lewin Lecture and last about a half-hour.
Business to be conducted this year includes committee reports and Board member elections. We have two open board positions. Board terms run for three years. Board meetings are currently held by Zoom. We are looking for treasurer assistance in particular. If you are interested in joining us or have questions contact Emily Pollack at president@mnindependentscholars.org

When Minnehaha Flowed With Whiskey: A Spirited History Of The Falls
2025-06-28 11:00 - 12:00 | Shoreview Library, 4560 Victoria St N, Shoreview, MN, 55126
Drunks, criminals, and rowdies went to Minnehaha Falls to raise a ruckus, dance, and have fun. From the 1860s until the early 20th century, Minnehaha Falls was not a family-oriented destination. Rather, it was a scene of scandal and disreputable behavior. By 1891, things had gotten so bad that “Father of the Parks” Charles Loring said, “Minnehaha had become the rendezvous of the most depraved of both sexes.” Find out what the heck was going on at the falls, and how all was eventually redeemed.

Karen E. Cooper is an author, historian, and researcher who uncovered the lost disgraceful past at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. Her work reveals the power structures in the city that allowed Minnehaha to become a criminal haven, and battle with those who wanted Minnehaha to be a place where families felt safe and welcome. Her first book, When Minnehaha Flowed With Whiskey: A Spirited History Of The Falls won the Emile Buchwald Award for Minnesota Non-Fiction in 2023.

Cooper became a historian because she has a good eye for detail and a lot of curiosity. Her background is in Spanish and Economics, but the hints of improper behavior at Minnehaha Falls were such a captivating story that she undertook to discover what had happened and what had been forgotten. Too, she has written dozens of newspaper columns on restaurants and local history and she collects old Minnesota photographs. Karen E. Cooper is very nearly a native Minnesotan.

Philosophy Study Group
2025-07-09 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
We will continue our discussion of Per Bak’s book, How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality, by reading chapters 4-7. One of the remarkable aspects of self-organized criticality (SOC) is that it can arise from very simple rules but lead to highly complex, unpredictable systems. Since this book is an introductory overview of SOC, it follows the same pattern. It explains things with basic, simple ideas, but the consequences can be mind-boggling complex. So, if you think you’d like to join us but are worried about not being able to catch up because you’d have to read lots of abstruse, technical concepts, in actuality this book is something that even a member of the MISF Philosophy Study Group can understand. Well, okay, maybe the simple ideas part. But the rest is what’s really fun.

Philosophy Study Group
2025-08-06 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
We will finish our discussion of the book, How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality, by Per Bak. For those who will have read the book and will attend the meeting, you can, of course, expect to understand how nature works. However, this creates a problem. After so many of us comprehend this, there really is no longer any reason to keep this group going. However, we do feel some obligation to explain these findings to those who come to subsequent meetings and who are not as enlightened as we will be – sort of an intellectual noblesse oblige. So, we’ll keep at it for a while, anyway. 😊

Annual Picnic
2025-08-16 11:30 - 13:30 | Cherokee Park Picnic Shelter, Chippewa and Winona Streets, St. Paul, MN
This is our annual summer picnic. MISF will provide the drinks, plasticware, and grills, and St. Paul Parks & Rec the electricity and more grills. You provide a dish to share and your best topics for good conversations.

Philosophy Study Group
2025-09-10 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
We will begin discussing a new book, Caste: The Origins of our Discontents (2020), by Isabel Wilkerson. The book focuses on race in the U.S. (Wilkerson is black), but examines the topic broadly and includes comparisons with the caste system of India and the discriminations carried out by Nazi Germany. For the 10th we’ll read Parts I and II.

The book is readily available and lists for about $21 in paperback and $9 as an eBook, but can be found for much less. It has won several awards, including the Time magazine nonfiction book of the year. It was also nominated for several more, including the National Book Award, the Kirkus Prize, and two different PEN America Awards. And to top it off, we’ll be discussing it in the award-winning MISF Philosophy Study Group, having captured the Best Philosophical Discussion Group in Minnesota for 2024. Or, at least, we would have if there was such a thing.

Electricity, Magnetism and Birds
2025-09-27 10:30 - 12:00 | Shoreview Library, 4560 Victoria St N, Shoreview, MN, 55126
When we consider how physics applies to birds, we are inclined to think about topics such as the aerodynamics of flight, the mechanics of feathers and bills, the optics enabling eagle vision, the pigments and structural features that produce vibrant colors, the thermodynamic demands of living under temperature extremes, or the acoustics of birdsong. We tend not to associate the seemingly more esoteric fields of electricity and magnetism with our avian neighbors, but there are fascinating ways in which they are relevant. This presentation will review several examples, with a focus on the mechanism by which birds are thought to perceive the earth’s magnetic field as an aid for navigation.

Michael Hurben earned his PhD in physics from Colorado State University in 1996, where his research focused on magnetic resonance in ferrite materials. He has worked in academic and industrial settings, including over two decades in the magnetic recording industry. He is an avid naturalist and birder, and has accumulated a life list exceeding 5,000 bird species despite being legally blind. He is the author of The Physics of Birds and Birding(Pelagic, 2025).

Philosophy Study Group
2025-10-08 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
We will continue discussing the book, Caste: The Origins of our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson, by reading Sections 3 and 4. In these sections Wilkerson gets into the heart of how caste operates, and it’s not very pretty. We hope that you can join us. All of our regulars should be there, but some of us are not very pretty either.

Christian Nationalism: A Dangerous Manifestation of a Deeper Problem
2025-10-25 10:30 - 12:00 | Maplewood Library, 3025 Southlawn Dr, Maplewood, MN, 55109
Christian Nationalism is a political ideology and movement that understands the United States as founded as a White Protestant Evangelical Christian Nation. They believe secular liberal democracy has failed God’s America by taking their version of Christianity out of government and the public schools, tolerated ethnic, religious, and sexual diversity, and enabled the decline of Christianity in America.

The result is decadence, decline, and division in their understanding of God’s America. White Evangelical Christian Nationalists are called by God to restore righteousness in America. That means that the United States should be declared a Christian Nation according to their understanding of Christian. White Evangelical Protestant Christians and their churches should be restored to their rightful privileged position, and the rule of law in America and in public education should be guided by conservative evangelical Christian beliefs and values. How did this movement come about and is it the future of America? Should we fear it or see it as an expression of the beliefs of one of many groups in this country? Do we see positive value in at least part of its message? Why is Christian Nationalism such a force in politics and thought?
Grant Abbott, former executive director of the Saint Paul Area Council of Churches, is an Episcopal priest. He’s the convener of the “Real American History Book Group: Learning the Whole Story.” He lives in St. Paul

Philosophy Study Group
2025-11-12 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
The MISF Philosophy Study Group is going to have their next meeting on Wednesday, November 12, at 7:00 pm via Zoom. We will conclude our discussion of the book, Caste: The Origins of our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson. In the last parts of her book, Wilkerson discusses the more subtle, unconscious ways caste can impact society; the resilience of caste; and what can be done to counter this.

At this point I planned on including a really clever comment designed to make everyone smile. However, considering the gravity of the topic and our current political climate, saying something amusing didn’t seem appropriate. Even if you don’t attend our meeting, I hope you can still read this excellent book as well as other writings concerning our current situation. I regard today’s circumstances as an existential threat to our democracy, fueled by scapegoating and racism. But the MISF Philosophy Study Group is doing their part by eliminating all of our hereditary positions. (Sorry, couldn’t help it.)

Curt

Mystery in the Midwest
2025-11-15 10:30 - 12:00 | Shoreview Library, 4560 Victoria St N, Shoreview, MN, 55126
Is the modern American mystery novel the most important literature being written today? Why do private eyes and
fictional detectives continue to fascinate us? Do we want all our problems neatly solved or see proof that crime
really doesn’t pay? Or do we just want to have fun? Maybe we should ask the expert or have a chance to see how
even Minnesota can be a place where dark alley ways, seedy dives, and the homes of the rich and famous can be a
gateway to a sinister world. Do we want to find out? Of course, we do.

A past President of the Private Eye Writers of America, David Housewright won a prestigious Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America and three Minnesota Book Awards for his Rushmore McKenzie and Holland Taylor private eye novels as well as other tales of murder and mayhem in the Midwest. He has published 31 novels including Them Bones (St. Martin’s Minotaur) and Girl In A Dumpster (Down and Out Books). He earned an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, a Shamus nomination from the PWA, and three Minnesota Books Awards. A reformed newspaper reporter and ad man, he also taught at the University of Minnesota and Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. He was recently added to “Minnesota Writers on the Map” by the Minnesota Historical Society and Friends of the St. Paul Public Library. www.davidhousewright.com”

Philosophy Study Group
2025-12-10 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
For this meeting we are going to discuss three different existentialist works of fiction, two by Jean Paul Sartre and one by Earnest Hemingway. The former includes the short story “The Wall” and the play “No Exit”. The Hemingway work is another short story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.”

All these are available online. Commentaries on each of them are also available. Read the three and see what they say to you regarding your existence. I mean, beyond just the fact that you’re still alive.

Curt

Here are three sites they can be found.

The Wall
https://www.scribd.com/document/662934896/OceanofPDF-com-the-Wall-Jean-Paul-Sartre

No Exit
https://ia600303.us.archive.org/13/items/NoExit/NoExit.pdf

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
Hemingway pages

Philosophy Study Group
2026-01-14 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
We will be studying the book, The Boxer and the Goalkeeper: Sartre Vs Camus (2012), by Andy Martin. A new copy of this book can be had for around $20, but there seems to be plenty of used copies. It appears that there is no e-book available in this country.
The book is about the friendship and eventual falling out of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. It’s aimed at the general reader who has some familiarity with philosophy, or at least existentialism, and is not a difficult read. It even has pictures. For the 14th, we’ll read the first 10 chapters. That’s READ the first 10 chapters, not just look at the pictures. The book is not that easy.
Curt

The Origin Story of Fort Road/West Seventh Street
2026-01-24 10:30 - 12:00 | Shoreview Library, 4560 Victoria St N, Shoreview, MN, 55126
In 2024, out of a series of neighborhood (garden tour) histories along West Seventh Street, Joe Landsberger combined them into a narrative origin of Saint Paul and Minnesota. He came to realize historians ignored these first neighborhoods and commercial strip in the history of our state. It grew to 420 pages illustrated with 1069 vintage and commissioned images documented with 246 endnotes. The first edition sold out quickly in January/February 2025. After buyers reported more stories, a second was enhanced/published August 2025. The self-published history, locally sourced and locally promoted, committed all proceeds to nonprofits. The presentation, process and product, accentuates contributions of immigrants and volunteers.

Joe Landsberger is a lifelong resident of Saint Paul: 30 years on its West Side, 50 on West Seventh with a break of three in West Africa. His educational journey included thirty years developing the central computer lab/learning center at a university (1976 – 2006). He researched, authored and developed an educational website of study guides and strategies (1995-2012) that was translated into 38 languages with 54,767,483 visitors accessing 118,365,575 webpages. As a community volunteer, he founded West End Arts and developed a public art park, served as president of Czech and Slovak Sokol Minnesota, the West Seventh Business Association, and is a member of Citizen Advocates for Regional Transit (CART). His editorial skills were polished in his community newspaper.

Philosophy Study Group
2026-02-11 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
We will conclude our discussion of the book, The Boxer and the Goalkeeper: Sartre Vs Camus, by Andy Martin. In spite of rumors to the contrary, our next book will not be The Commie and the Nazi: Marx vs Heidegger. There is a possibility that we could do The Wrestler and the Fencer: Plato vs Descartes, however. But whatever is decided, it will be done by those who show up. Jus’ sayin’.

Woman's World: Women Artists in Russia
2026-02-28 10:00 - 11:30 | Bethlehem Lutheran Church – Commons Room, 41st and Lyndale, Minneapolis
Where in the world are the women artists? The answer: In the Russian Empire and Soviet Union. This ppt presentation traces the ways in which women artists were vital to the development of their culture’s visual artistry. Textile artists, painters, folk artists and non-conformist women contributed both to their own country and to the international scene.

Carol Veldman Rudie is coordinator of outreach education at the Museum of Russian Art. She has been lead docent there since 2005 and developed its docent training programs. Her special interest involves forming and educating groups to tour Russia. Her Ph.D. work at the U of MN includes a minor in Art History.

Philosophy Study Group
2026-03-11 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
We will begin discussing the book, The Subversive Simone Weil: A Life in Five Ideas (2023), by Robert Zaretsky. This book is available new for around $15 in either paperback or as an eBook. For the 11th we’ll read the introduction and chapters 1 and 2.
Simone Weil was a 20th century French philosopher and mystic who was only 34 when she died, but her writings have been enormously influential. She strongly believed that one’s philosophy should be lived. The MISF Philosophy Study Group thinks that, too, and will do it if we ever figure things out.

From Memoir to Fiction and Today's Publishing World
2026-03-28 10:00 - 12:00 | Bethlehem Lutheran Church – Commons Room, 41st and Lyndale, Minneapolis
Vince Wyckoff will reveal the backstory to his first work of non-fiction, Beware of Cat, and Other Encounters of a Letter Carrier, and how it nearly cost him his career amid threats of federal felony charges. His Black Otter Bay mystery series has been met with less drama, but strong reviews and a loyal following of readers.

Born and raised in Columbia Heights, Minn, Mr. Wyckoff attended the University of Minnesota and is a veteran of the U.S. Army. His first book, “Beware of Cat,” celebrates the stories of people on his mail route. For a short time, he lived on the north shore of Lake Superior, from which he developed the background for Black Otter Bay, his first work of fiction and a finalist for the 2016 Midwest Independent Publishers Award. This was followed by a sequel, Nightwatchers, and the third installment, Refuge From the Sea. His stories have been published in several local periodicals as well as the anthology, Home. Wyckoff and his wife, Sybil, live in Minneapolis. They have two children and four grandchildren.

Philosophy Study Group
2026-04-08 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
We are finishing our discussion of the book, The Subversive Simone Weil: A Life in Five Ideas, by Robert Zaretsky. The last parts of the book cover Weil’s concepts of rootedness and her own mystical version of Catholicism. Even though most people aren’t convinced by the latter, they still regard her analysis of social roots as her primary contribution to philosophy. However you may feel, we hope you’re rooting for us as we dig into her ideas.
Curt

Black Arts Minnesota: An Autoethnographic Approach
2026-04-25 10:00 - 12:00 | Bethlehem Lutheran Church – Commons Room, 41st and Lyndale, Minneapolis
This talk demonstrates how archival research and artistic practices bear witness to a Black presence in Minnesota dating as far back as the 1860s.

A North Minneapolis native and fifth-generation Minnesotan, Davu Underwood Seru currently serves as the Curator of the Givens Collection of African American Literature and Life at the University of Minnesota. Formerly, Davu was an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of English at Hamline University where he taught courses in research, writing and literature, for which received the prestigious Dr. Colleen S. Bell Outstanding Faculty Award. Additionally, he is co-author of the book Sights, Sounds, Soul: The Twin Cities Through the Lens of Charles Chamblis (MNHS Press 2017) and is an award-winning, internationally recognized drummer and composer.

Philosophy Study Group
2026-05-13 19:00 - 21:00 | via Zoom
We will discuss chapter 1, “The Idea of Perfection”, from the book, The Sovereignty of Good (1970), by Iris Murdoch. Not only will we discuss perfection, but we intend to model it as well. Or at least give you some ideas on how to not do things.
