About us
This group is for anyone interested in exploring literature, philosophy, and cinema through occasional film viewings and reading discussions that will be centered around classic and contemporary works of (primarily) Western Philosophy, Fiction, and Cinema. We will not only look at the traditional cast of existential characters (Sartre, de Beauvoir, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Camus, Kafka), but will also be very open to other work within the European philosophical tradition that is derivative of, influential to, or critical towards "existential" philosophy. Special consideration will also be given to works within the "phenomenological" tradition. Join us in this exciting intellectual endeavor! Get ready for fun, riveting, and thoughtful discussions about society, values, faith, spirituality, truth, experience, subjectivity, and existence (of course).
Join us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ExistentialismPhenomenologyLiterature/
Upcoming events
4
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
Boheme, 307 Fairview St, Houston, TX, USFor March's meeting, we will discuss Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet at bar Boheme (wine bar located in the heart of Montrose). We'll be seated inside, in the small room next to the main bar, near the front entrance (on the right when you walk in).
Below is a link to the reading, followed by a description of the work:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW OR DOWNLOAD THE READING
The Prophet is one of the most beloved classics of our time—a collection of poetic essays that are philosophical, spiritual, and, above all, inspirational. Published in 1923, Gibran's masterpiece has been translated into more than twenty languages.
Gibran’s musings are divided into twenty-eight chapters covering such sprawling topics as love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, housing, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.
Each essay reveals deep insights into the impulses of the human heart and mind. The Chicago Post said of The Prophet: “Cadenced and vibrant with feeling, the words of Kahlil Gibran bring to one’s ears the majestic rhythm of Ecclesiastes . . . If there is a man or woman who can read this book without a quiet acceptance of a great man’s philosophy and a singing in the heart as of music born within, that man or woman is indeed dead to life and truth.”
12 attendees
Paul Coelho, The Alchemist
Bayou Heights Bier Garten, 3905 Washington Ave,, Houston, TX, USFor April, we will discuss Paul Coelho's popular novel The Alchemist.
For our discussion, we will be meeting at the Bayou Heights Biergarten and sitting inside (upstairs above the beer taproom). Below is a link to the reading followed by a brief description of the work:CLICK HERE TO VIEW/DOWNLOAD THE READING
Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom, and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery, this beloved work of philosophical fiction, The Alchemist, has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations.
This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and soul-stirring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried near the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself a king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles in his path. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a profound journey of spiritual self-discovery.
Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.3 attendees
Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments
Bayou Heights Bier Garten, 3905 Washington Ave,, Houston, TX, USFor May's meeting, we will begin our two-month discussion of Søren Kierkegaard's Philosophical Fragments, focusing this month on the first half of the essay (the Preface and chapters 1-3). For our discussion, we will be meeting at the Bayou Heights Biergarten and sitting inside (upstairs above the beer taproom). Below is a link to the reading followed by a brief description of the work:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW/DOWNLOAD THE READING
Philosophical Fragments, written by Søren Kierkegaard under the pseudonym Johannes Climacus, is a pivotal 1844 work that contrasts Christian paradox with Greek philosophy, particularly the Socratic idea of truth as recollection, arguing that Christian truth is acquired through grace and the "absolute paradox" of the God-man. It explores doubt, the limits of reason, and the individual's passionate commitment to faith, challenging the speculative theology of Hegel and laying groundwork for existentialism.
The central issue of Johannes Climacus is doubt. Probably written between November 1842 and April 1843 but unfinished and published only posthumously, this book was described by Kierkegaard as an attack on modern speculative philosophy by "means of the melancholy irony, which did not consist in any single utterance on the part of Johannes Climacus but in his whole life. . . . Johannes does what we are told to do--he actually doubts everything--he suffers through all the pain of doing that, becomes cunning, almost acquires a bad conscience. When he has gone as far in that direction as he can go and wants to come back, he cannot do so. . . . Now he despairs, his life is wasted, his youth is spent in these deliberations. Life does not acquire any meaning for him, and all this is the fault of philosophy." A note by Kierkegaard suggests how he might have finished the work: "Doubt is conquered not by the system but by faith, just as it is faith that has brought doubt into the world!."
2 attendees
Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments
Bayou Heights Bier Garten, 3905 Washington Ave,, Houston, TX, USFor our June meeting, we will conclude our two-month discussion of Søren Kierkegaard's Philosophical Fragments, focusing this month on the second half of the essay (Chapter 4 forward, beginning on page 31 of the PDF below).
For our discussion, we will be meeting at the Bayou Heights Biergarten and sitting inside (upstairs above the beer taproom). Below is a link to the reading followed by a brief description of the work:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW/DOWNLOAD THE READING
Philosophical Fragments, written by Søren Kierkegaard under the pseudonym Johannes Climacus, is a pivotal 1844 work that contrasts Christian paradox with Greek philosophy, particularly the Socratic idea of truth as recollection, arguing that Christian truth is acquired through grace and the "absolute paradox" of the God-man. It explores doubt, the limits of reason, and the individual's passionate commitment to faith, challenging the speculative theology of Hegel and laying groundwork for existentialism.
The central issue of Johannes Climacus is doubt. Probably written between November 1842 and April 1843 but unfinished and published only posthumously, this book was described by Kierkegaard as an attack on modern speculative philosophy by "means of the melancholy irony, which did not consist in any single utterance on the part of Johannes Climacus but in his whole life. . . . Johannes does what we are told to do--he actually doubts everything--he suffers through all the pain of doing that, becomes cunning, almost acquires a bad conscience. When he has gone as far in that direction as he can go and wants to come back, he cannot do so. . . . Now he despairs, his life is wasted, his youth is spent in these deliberations. Life does not acquire any meaning for him, and all this is the fault of philosophy." A note by Kierkegaard suggests how he might have finished the work: "Doubt is conquered not by the system but by faith, just as it is faith that has brought doubt into the world!."2 attendees
Past events
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