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We're a community fostering friendship and insights by engaging in thoughtful discussions on significant concepts discovered from reading books and intellectual consumption.
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49
Realism with a Human Face by Hilary Putnam Week 1
Pier 57, 25 11th Avenue, New York, NY, USHilary Putnam (1926-2016) was a analytic philosopher known for his work in Mathematics and Logic. In Realism with a Human Face, written in 1990, he challenges the philosophy community to cultivate ideas which are aligned with real life and the social lives of everyday people. Drawing on the American philosophical tradition, in particular William James, he argues for a pragmatic realism which avoids what he sees as the pitfalls of relativism and the reckless reactions of postmodern thinkers. In this book, Putnam elucidates the views of many philosophers in the American and analytic traditions with clear prose and energetic insights, making this a fruitful read for anyone looking for a broad understanding of the American pragmatist and analytic traditions, particularly on questions of truth, realism, and the limits of scientific explanation.
Participants should read the entire reading before attending this in person meeting. We will read pages 1-79 for the first week. I will be reading from this version here.
For questions please send me a message or post to meetup.
Best,
Brian
15 attendees
Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (week 6)
Pier 57, 25 11th Avenue, New York, NY, USOne of the great classics of European literature, Faust is Goethe's most complex and profound work. To tell the dramatic and tragic story of one man’s pact with Mephistopheles in exchange for knowledge and power, Goethe drew from an immense variety of cultural and historical material, and a wealth of poetic and theatrical traditions. What results is a tour de force illustrating Goethe’s own moral and artistic development, and a symbolic, cautionary tale of Western humanity striving restlessly and ruthlessly for progress.
Join us to discuss this classic book over the course of 6-weeks!
Week 1 Sat 6/20 12:30pm-2:30pm The Seahorse Room @ Pier 57
Week 2 Sat 6/27 12:30pm-2:30pm The Seahorse Room @ Pier 57
Week 3 Sat 7/4 12:30pm-2:30pm The Seahorse Room @ Pier 57
Week 4 Sat 7/11 12:30pm-2:30pm The Seahorse Room @ Pier 57
Week 5 Sat 7/18 12:30pm-2:30pm The Oyster Room @ Pier 57
Week 6 Sat 7/25 12:30pm-2:30pm The Seahorse Room @ Pier 57Reading for Week 6
Part 2 Act 4 & 5 (about 59 pages)Feel free to read any translation you like, just make sure it is not an abridged version of the text.
I will be reading the Norton Critical Edition available here
free pdf download here *click on the first slow download option
(other formats available too —epub & mobi for kindle—just search in search bar)Rules for Our Group
1. Be Courteous
Respectful disagreement is totally acceptable; Condescension is not.
2. Be Concise
Keep comments brief, on topic, and allow space for others to join in.
3. Do the Reading
If you have not done the reading for the week you are welcome to attend and listen to the discussion, but out of respect for those who have read, you will not be permitted to participate in the discussion.Finally, Please update your RSVP if you are no longer able to attend the event.
- inaccurate RSVPs make it difficult for coordinators to plan successful events
- inaccurate RSVPs prevent waitlisted individuals from attending
*Multiple no shows may result in losing RSVP privileges for future events.
For more info and FAQ on the group click here.
Can't wait to discuss these ideas with all of you!
-Zach11 attendees
Deleuze and Guattari: Anti-Oedipus (week 4)
Fort Greene Park Prison Ship Martyrs’s Monument, Fort Greene Park, Willoughby ave, Washington Park, Brooklyn, NY, US(New location!)
Deterritorialize with us at weekly discussions of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's 1972 first volume of their groundbreaking Capitalism and Schizophrenia. This critique of Freudian psychoanalysis and modern capitalism reframes unconscious desire as a machinic productive force, dynamic multiplicities of flows that can be directed against fascistic thinking toward creative and revolutionary action.
Required reading for this meeting: Ch. 2 "Psychoanalysis and Familialism: The Holy Family" sections 4–5 (pg. 75–106)
There's an online PDF available that looks like it might have a few scanning issues, but it seems to mostly align with the widely available Penguin edition. We plan to meet weekly and work our way through the whole book 20–30 pages at a time.
We'll be meeting outside at Fort Greene Park. Let's convene in the shady area just southwest of the giant column in the middle of the park. We'll likely move to the grass to sit on blankets. Check this page for location updates and comment here if you can't find us!
16 attendeesRealism with a Human Face by Hilary Putnam Week 2
Pier 57, 25 11th Avenue, New York, NY, USHilary Putnam (1926-2016) was a analytic philosopher known for his work in Mathematics and Logic. In Realism with a Human Face, written in 1990, he challenges the philosophy community to cultivate ideas which are aligned with real life and the social lives of everyday people. Drawing on the American philosophical tradition, in particular William James, he argues for a pragmatic realism which avoids what he sees as the pitfalls of relativism and the reckless reactions of postmodern thinkers. In this book, Putnam elucidates the views of many philosophers in the American and analytic traditions with clear prose and energetic insights, making this a fruitful read for anyone looking for a broad understanding of the American pragmatist and analytic traditions, particularly on questions of truth, realism, and the limits of scientific explanation.
Participants should read the entire reading before attending this in person meeting. We will read pages 80-162 for the second week. I will be reading from this version here.
For questions please send me a message or post to meetup.
Best,
Brian
16 attendees
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